The Apprentice of Time
by Shodai24
Summary: Naruto discovered his bloodline at the feet of the Shodai Hokage before he was cast away like a piece of trash. Now he must find his path. PERMANENT HIATUS. SEE PROFILE
1. Begininngs

**The Apprentice Of Time**

I do not own Naruto

I watched as he charged up a Chidori, the black lightning cackling in his hand. He was already too mad to notice who it was he was about to kill. I barely had any chakra left, and there was no way I could draw on the Fox's to use for a Rasengan. I silently prayed that Ero-sennin or Baa-chan would come out of nowhere and stop Sasuke; but I knew there was no way they would make it on time.

Was I going to die here? Was this where it all ended? I did not like the prospect of death. It always seemed too close for comfort.

As he charged me, I felt the world slow down. There was a tingling sensation in my eye, and I suddenly knew exactly how to counter Sasuke's attack. The world became all too clear and sharp. I began to make hand seals I'd never done before, and said the name of a technique that I'd never learnt, "Fuuton: Tenryuu no Houko!" I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with chakra and I blew it out, sending Sasuke flying into the First Hokage's foot.

For a few seconds I didn't move. Then the world lost its color. I felt very, very tired. As Kakashi-sensei rushed towards me, I let the darkness take me from my pain…

* * *

I opened my eyes, and was met with the sight of the white ceiling of the hospital. I hated hospitals. To me, being here meant that I'd failed. I felt someone next to me move, and I saw Baa-chan drooling all over my blankets…nasty. I shook her awake and she began to get all fussy, sticking a thermometer in my mouth and writing furiously on a clipboard. She did not seem like her usual I'm-bigger-than-you self, however. Was something wrong?

A few minutes later, Kakashi-sensei entered the room. He seemed happy to see me…and a little sad. What was going on?

"Hey, Naruto." He greeted as he sat in the chair Baa-chan had vacated. "How are you feeling?"

I almost laughed. If you'd made a promise to a helpless kunoichi to get a traitor back and nearly died from both chakra depletion and blood loss, how do you think you'd feel? "I'm…confused, a little weak and I could do with some ramen…and training."

Kakashi pulled out his book. He really needed a rehab from the stuff. Who the f*** reads porn after an invasion? "I don't think you'll be ready to train just yet. I do have some good news… and some bad news. Which would you like first?"

Naturally, I chose what I thought was best to hear when you're in such a sorry state. "…The good news."

Kakashi almost smiled. I was surprised his facial muscles could even attempt such a movement. Not that it was easy to spot.

"You have a bloodline, and it's a doujutsu."

I was tempted to jump off the bed and shout 'Take THAT Sasuke-teme!' all the way to Iwa, but I resisted the urge. Instead, I gave my usual foolish grin. "That's great! What's the other news?"

Kakashi hesitated, probably wondering how to tell me. He must have decided to tell it to me straight, because his face was almost emotionless. "Naruto…the Council, despite your having a bloodline, have…exiled you, because of your fight with Sasuke. And, somehow, they want to consider you an international criminal, therefore..."

My face fell. "…Hunter-nin."

Kakashi nodded. "They want you to leave this evening. You've been out for a whole week. I had a genin pack your stuff in a bag for you."

I tried to take my mind off my banishment, so I asked Kakashi more of my bloodline. "So what's my bloodline called?"

Kakashi instantly slipped into Sensei Mode. "It's called the Jikokugan, the Eye of Time. From what Tsunade-sama could discern, it remembers everything and anything it sees including techniques, like the Sharingan. It can see all types of chakra as well. The most important thing, however, is that the user remembers everything the previous users could do, including taijutsu styles, though not the muscule memory that comes with it. It can also slow down and sometimes stop Time for a certain period.

"It, along with the Rinnegan, the doujutsu that the Rikudou Sennin used, is one of the Legendary Doujutsu. This particular one hasn't been seen since long before the Shodai Hokage's time."

I was astounded. I was that powerful! I could have easily defeated Zabuza if I'd had this back then!

"And they still want to banish me?" What Village would be stupid enough to throw away a bloodline that could match the Legendary Rinnegan? Not to mention the world's most powerful Jinchuuriki... Kakashi looked angry.

"Fools…They emphasized that the Sharingan 'could not be beaten', and that it is 'the strongest bloodline' in the world. Just because the Sandaime's gone..." Kakashi shook his head. I hastily suppressed my memories of that day.

"I've heard of many other things that could beat the Sharingan hands down." Like the Byakugan. But that was really only the Sharingan's equal. Considering the secrecy of the Uchiha, I couldn't help but think the council's views a little true.

The excitement I felt began to drain away after a few moments. "Well…who's on the council anyway?"

"It is made up of the heads of all clans-including myself- as well as the most important civilians."

"You voted for me to stay?" I wanted to know what role he had in this.

"Of course I did! Why wouldn't I?" Kakashi asked, shocked that I would even ask such a question.

"Ano…it's just a thought."

After that he left, saying he would see me at the gate in a few hours…more like a few years. The morning passed by quickly, and I really wanted to eat some ramen, but apparently I couldn't eat for a full twelve hours cause of the anesthetic.. Ero-sennin showed up and gave me a large scroll full of training tips and techniques and a smaller one with doujutsu exercises and a map to kami-knows-where.

"I'm sorry that I won't be able to train you personally, but I hope the scrolls help." He said. "The map is one of my own that I drew of the Elemental Nations. I suggest you go to Lightning Country, since they'll probably be the last to be told of your status as an 'international criminal'. Bye, and don't forget to trust your instincts."

With that he left. I was not sure whether or not I really wanted to go to Lightning Country. It didn't seem so inviting, what with the Raikage being the touchiest of all Kage. No, I'd want to be going somewhere far less known…maybe Waterfall? No, that was too close to the Fire Country. How about Water Country? It was a little cut off from the rest of the world, the perfect place for me to go. I could sail to Lightning Country from there if I had to. I returned to my thoughts.

Later that day, I stood at Konoha's East gate, saying my goodbyes to Baa-chan and Kakashi-sensei. Everyone else was busy.

"I'll see you in a few years, Baa-chan. Maybe I could build my own home somewhere." I told them.

"Goodbye, and be safe." She kissed me on my now bare forehead and I felt more than a little embarrassed.

"Stay safe." Kakashi said. I knew he could not come up with anything better to say. "Watch out for red and black cloaks."

I had a vague idea what this meant. "Sure. Bye, then."

I turned and walked away, discreetly pulling out a kunai and my forehead protector, and slashing through the symbol, as was tradition. As I put it on, I noticed it was a little too tight, and I made a mental note to buy some cloth on the way to Kirigakure, the Village of the Hidden Mist. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me with chakra.


	2. Meetings

** The Apprentice of Time**

**A/N: **Greetings. Thanks for reading chapter one, and here's chapter two! I do not own Naruto. Neither do you...I'm not mean, just realistic.

* * *

**Meetings**

I woke up earlier than I wanted to; sleep was constantly slipping through my hands in the past hours of night, and I felt like a good swim would wake me up. So I found the nearest lake, stripped until only my boxers were on me, and sealed my clothes in Jiraiya's large scroll before diving in. The water was a cool relief from the hot temperature of the Fire Country. It had been a week since I'd left Konoha, and I'd mastered quite a few minor Suiton jutsu, not much.

Deciding to get some training in before I hit the road, I continued practising water walking. When Kakashi-sensei had fought in Wave, he hadn't even hesitated before he jumped, rolled and pulled his sick taijutsu moves on the water. I aimed to be just as good at it.

Refreshed, I dried up in the sun before putting my clothes back on and continuing my journey. I wanted to pass through Tazuna's village, maybe set up a ninja training programme there for the good of the place. They could do with some designer tips from the great Naruto Uzumaki, too. I read one of the scrolls I found inside Jiraiya's scroll as I walked. It might seem strange, but I was completely relaxed. I had deployed some shadow clones as guards, to warn me of any attacks. They were unlikely, as bandit activity in the Wave Country was valley-deep low.

The scroll I was reading didn't detail much, just how to perform the jutsu. I tried it, and almost burned myself to death.

"Kami, if this is the fireball, what's the Grand Fireball like!"

I didn't realise I'd said that out loud. "It's like this..."

Next thing I knew, the sun was falling down on me. "F***!" I swore as I switched with a boulder in the nick of time.

"Armageddon is here, dobe!" I recognized that voice.

"S-Sasuke!" He was standing right in front of me. It was-

"Idiot. How could you let a genjutsu like that fool you!"

"Kai!" I muttered. The image of Sasuke disappeared and standing right before me was a purple-haired girl with a scratched Kumogakure forehead protector and a black top that looked like it belonged to some three-year old and a pair of tight black pants that showed off her slim-lined legs.

"Who the f*** are you!" I demanded, gearing myself for a Rasengan.

"I'm your worst nightmare...or more accurately an ally. You're a missing nin right? Shinkirou Aka, master illusionist at your service!"

I lowered my guard a little, but I was still tensed, ready to react to any false move. "Naruto Uzumaki."

"So," she said, relaxed now that I was no longer moulding chakra. I wondered how she knew. "You from Konoha, huh?"

"Yeah." I didn't feel like telling her how I really became a missing-nin. "I was forced to leave."

"Really? I left after the last Chunin Exam. They were going to start testing this new gene on me they got from combining a jinchuuriki and the First Raikage's DNA. Gross."

This was quite believable from a general view, but I wasn't exactly a general thinker. "Shouldn't they be testing that sort of stuff on the condemned or something? Or were you a prisoner?"

She seemed quite uncomfortable about it, so I decided not to press the issue. "Never mind. Anyway, what was that technique?"

She puffed out her chest and stated proudly. "One of my personal arsenal of genjutsu; the Mousetsu Kyougi. It literally takes memories from your mind and presents them to you in the user's fashion, that is to say, form of understanding, like surprise, hate, fear, happiness and so on. SO, you knew some guy called Sasuke?"

I'd only known her five minutes, but by then I already knew Shinkirou was a handful. "Well, yeah. He was a friend of mine until..."

She could tell I wasn't so fond of the topic, so she asked me where I was headed. "To Water Country. I'm passing through Wave, since I have a few connections there. Call it a 'training stop' if you will."

"Hmmm, well I've been waiting for something interesting to happen." Shinkirou said, idly twirling a kunai, "My camp's not far from here. Coming?"

It was a good opportunity to make an ally, and I could use some of her genjutsu skills, since I had almost no aptitude at that. "Sure." I replied.

She nodded and hopped into a tree, jumping from one branch to another thereafter. They soon reached an area littered with rocks near the ruins of an old bridge*. We stopped and she jumped down to the almost hidden entrance of a cave.

Once inside, she muttered something and a fire sprang to life. The word was obviously a cover for some jutsu she didn't want to reveal. And it fooled one into thinking the lights were voice activated.

It was quite plain, like most caves. There was just a small pile of fruits and vegetables in the corner along with the skins of dead rabbits. The meat itself was wrapped in some leaves, which Shinkirou removed and threw in a pan that was on a two plate chakra operated stove.

"So," damn, she really like that word. "Tell me your story..."

I swallowed. "Well..."

* * *

The sun was rising once again over the heads of the Hokage. Sasuke Uchiha could not help but wonder what it looked like. He'd been in a Maximum Security ANBU cell for an entire week. And he was beginning to get a little peeved. After being knocked into the foot of Shodai Hokage and falling unconscious, he'd woken up at brief times. One of them was in the Council Room, kami-knows-how he'd gotten there.

* * *

_There was a lot of bickering going on. And the Godaime Hokage wasn't enjoying it. "CAN EVERYBODY SHUT THE HELL UP!"_

_The room immediately fell silent, though one of the jounin, intent on having a say in the issue, shouted out. "He must not be imprisoned! The Sharingan is an invaluable weapon to this village and if we-"_

"_Silence!" Tsunade roared. "I will not have any of your petty excuses to pamper the Uchiha!"_

_She took a deep breath, calming herself and reigning in her temper. Her great-uncle was oh-so-genius in establishing the council. "Now, let us settle this like the decent, respectful people we are, and allow the case to _first_ be brought forward before we make _any_ comments on the issue. Agreed?" She received a satisfying silence. "The purpose of this meeting is to decide what should be done about the Uchiha. Routine dictates we should execute him, but since you are so _keen _on keeping the Sharingan, we shall have to decide on a punishment just below that. Any suggestions?"_

_Hiashi Hyuuga chose that moment to speak. "If I may, Godaime-sama, I would suggest that the boy be kept under constant surveillance, and trained by the ANBU, who, I understand, operate under very strict rules, thus the boy shall over time become disciplined. I don't really mind him being executed besides."_

_Tsunade pondered Hiashi's words for a few moments before she spoke. "That is an excellent suggestion Hiashi, however I'm afraid it is too big a risk. What would happen if he went rogue on a mission? No, but of course I welcome your contributions on the surveillance. Perhaps we can task a few of the Hyuuga with watching the boy. Any others?"_

_Much to her chagrin, Danzo raised his undamaged hand. "Yes, Danzo?"_

"_I suggest the boy be adopted into my ROOT program. I can ensure he is thoroughly programmed, much that he might get over his experiences."_

_Of course, Sasuke wasn't very keen on any of their ideas, but hopefully they would let him live._

"_Might approve that. No one else?"_

_Kakashi, Hatake clan head- as long as he decided to have kids someday- raised a hand. The one that didn't have porn in it._

"_Well I think we should have Sasuke return to a normal life. I shall train him, physically and mentally and hopefully groom him into the next Hokage."_

_Sasuke was so thankful of Kakashi, he almost wanted to go and hand over one of his Sharingan eyes. Almost. There were no more suggestions._

"_Since no one else has anything to bring forward, we shall now vote upon which motion we shall pass. Those in favour of Hiashi-san?" Only five out of the twenty-one hands went up. "Those in Danzo's favour." Eight hands went up. Kakashi was confident the remaining; Aburame, Yamanaka, Akamichi, Haruno and the other four minor clans would vote for him. They did. "Now since we have a tie between Danzo and Kakashi, the elders and I, excluding Danzo, shall have to vote upon it. Koharu, Homura?"_

_Homura was silent for a few moments, before he spoke. "I am in favour of Kakashi-san." Since they rarely voted on the same things, Tsunade wasn't surprised when Koharu went with Danzo. It was up to the Hokage to break the tie now._

"_I...will allow the Uchiha to live under Kakashi-san's conditions...with a few exceptions of course."_

_Sasuke Uchiha couldn't have been happier._

* * *

The other was when he was taken to the same room he'd been in before, this time to get a seal from the Legendary Toad Sage himself.

* * *

"_Now this is going to hurt, so prepare yourself." Jiraiya said. He had already started inscribing various kanji and other symbols all over Sasuke, who was lying on his back, staring at the ceiling._

_Once he had finished, Jiraiya began a long sequence of seals, and there were two hundred in all. "This seal, lain over the previous one, ought to completely destroy Orochimaru's seal. Since the ink is mixed with your Sharingan blood and its pure Blaze element genes, the pure 'kill for more blood' will be defeated by the 'no end until the target is destroyed'. Its hard to explain to a genin."_

_At that point he pressed his middle and index fingers on the curse seal and almost instantly Kakashi's seal crumbled. This was the risky part. If Sasuke's will failed, the Cursed seal would spread. But amazingly it held._

_Sasuke had never felt anything more painful in his life. Not even Haku's senbon compared to this. The pain was enough for him to completely obliterate any ideas of the Cursed Seal from him. It disappeared._

_Jiraiya was panting, wiping sweat off his brow. "I guess the Uchiha really are something."_

_The boy had taken pure pain and converted it into his will against the Cursed Seal. Not that he knew it._

* * *

Now he was back in his cell, waiting for some Inoichi Yamanaka. They wanted his memories of the Sound Four before they would allow him to go back to his apartment. There was an extremely loud series of click and bangs, and then the large metal door creaked open...

* * *

"...And that's how I got here."

Shinkirou was astounded. This guy was a jinchuuriki _and _possessed an extremely powerful bloodline! What village had the bird-brains to throw all that away? That was like throwing your diamond ring in the trash!

"So you want to go to Water Country? What for?"

I shrugged. "I want to learn as many jutsu as I can. I plan on building my own village, and I'll have to travel the world to find somewhere to build it. Plus, if I'm not strong enough, how can I lead my people or invade the land I need? I also need to get some missions, build a name, gain the favour of a clan or two. And the best place to start is Water, as it has plenty of bloodlines that survived the Purge."

Shinkirou slowly turned the spits, which had bits of seasoned meat, fruits and vegetables speared onto it. "I see...do you mind if I help build your village? There might be an island a good distance from the northern coast of Lightning Country."

"Sure. For now though, I sure would like to eat." My stomach growled like a storm about to strike. We laughed heartily as we began eating.

* * *

There's chapter two! Please review!

*This is not a bridge mentioned in the cannon storyline. Just assume it was another route the enemy used.


	3. Long Walk To Wave

** The Apprentice of Time**

**A/N: **Before we start the chappie, I'd like to address a few things. Naruto is not going to become some uber-powered 14 year old with the ability to slaughter hordes of jounin. No that won't even _be _in this part of the story, and maybe not even the sequel. I love to take my time, have a mundane pace when writing.

* * *

**Long Walk to Wave**

Shinkirou and I were on our way to the Village of Wave. Of course, it hadn't been a quiet journey as it usually was for me...far from it.

"SO," she really needed to stop saying that. "Do have any genjutsu in that scroll of yours? Perhaps a sword or five?"

I groaned for the umpteenth time that ten minute period. "I wouldn't know since I haven't gone through the entire scroll! I just unsealed the part written 'Basic'!"

"Oh, then that means you're wasting you're time! You should be learning super-cool, explosive and badass jutsu!"

And I thought there was no one louder than me. Guess I had achieved enlightenment. "Oh, there's the bridge!" I shouted in excitement. I ran all the way there, stopping before the sign. "The Great Naruto Bridge."

Shinkirou caught up with me. "The Great Naruto Bridge! You gotta be kidding me!"

"It's not a joke!" I retorted. "It was really named after me!"

Shinkirou huffed. "I won't believe it unless I hear it from someone else!"

"Well," and old voice said. I couldn't believe my eyes. "That is the Great Naruto Bridge, and the brat in orange standing in front of you is who its named after. He did save it, after all. Welcome back, Naruto."

"Tazu-jiji!" There was an abrupt halt in the old drunk's thought pattern.

"What did you just call me!" I got a good whack on the head. Ouch. "Who's this? Your girlfriend?" He wagged his eyebrows in a manner indescribable by the author.

"Phsaw!" I spat, "No way in hell! She's just a friend! Stop chuckling you old shrub!"

"Yeah, I'm not his girlfriend!" Shinkirou shouted, "I am Shinkirou Aka, the best genjutsu user in the _whole _wide world!"

"As if. Come on, Naruto, I'm sure the town would be happy to see you!"

We followed the old man down the very same road I once took, and the sight took my breath away. There was large gate, not as large as Konoha's but still quite big, and it opened to a square of marble, on which there was a monument of some bright stone. It was Team Seven, Zabuza and Haku and Tazuna. Kakashi with his hands in the Kage Bunshin seal, Naruto with a pair of fuuma shuriken in his hands, Sasuke picking himself off the ground, Zabuza with a kunai in his mouth and Haku lying prone on the ground next to him. Sakura protecting Tazuna And it was all picture perfect. But that wasn't what surprised me. It was what was written on the base of the monument. _Never give up._

I couldn't help it, I cried. I missed my old life, and the memories of the Wave Mission, the day I'd realised Sasuke was a true brother, when Sakura had realised the truth about herself, where Inari had become the bravest little kid I ever knew. And Haku...how could I have forgotten Haku? It was Haku who put me on my path as a true ninja.

"Thanks for this, Tazu-jiji."

"You should thank Inari. It was his idea." The old man continued his way on, and I wiped away my tears as I followed him. Shinkirou was silent. The rest of the town had brightened up as well. Kids were playing in the streets, the buildings were looking a lot healthier, and there was now this castle in the city centre. The Town Hall was where Tazuna worked, and just next to it was a nice double-storey house with a garden on top of it. This would be Naruto's dream home if anything. Tazuna unlocked the door and shuffled inside.

"Jiji!" Inari jumped onto his grandfather, sending the poor old man to his knees. A coming together all a bit untidy.

"I'm getting too old for this." Tazuna muttered. "We have guests, you know."

Inari brightened at this. "Really?" He peered behind his grandfather's old legs. "Naruto!"

He jumped all over me and gave me a crushing bear hug. "I...Inari...need...to...need to-"

"Oh, sorry Naruto nii-san."

I could breathe again! "What's all this..." Tsunami stepped out of the large kitchen in an apron. "Oh my..."

* * *

Sasuke Uchiha was indeed a happy man. He was back home, he had no Cursed Seal, and best of all he was going to start training this morning! Despite being excited, he'd woken up his usual aloof self, brushed his teeth, taken a shower, had breakfast and dressed up, making sure all his gear was in place before he left for the bridge of training ground seven, recently dubbed the 'Team Seven Bridge'.

Kakashi had said to meet him there at seven. Hopefully he'd have the decency to come on time, otherwise he wouldn't mind taking a leaf out of Naruto's book. _Naruto..._The irony of the phrase made him smile. Maybe he'd see Naruto sometime in the years to come, then he could ask for the blonde's help in dealing with Itachi. He'd long ago realised he couldn't do it on his own.

The bridge was in his sights. Feeling like a test run, Sasuke activated his Sharingan. He was still at one tomoe per eye, though he'd managed three when he fought Naruto. That was, however all the Cursed Seal's work. All the Sharingan did now was make things clearer and slow things down a bit, but not by much. He saw Kakashi slowly appear via Shunshin, and he could now perform the move, he tried hard enough.

"I see you came on time, Kakashi-sensei." Sasuke said. "Or, to be precise, you're only five minutes late."

"Quite." Kakashi stated, please that Sasuke was now acknowledging him as sensei. "Now turn your Sharingan off. We won't be using that for a while."

Sasuke grudgingly stopped channeling chakra to his eyes. "So what are we going to be doing today?"

"We're going to start off light with a half dozen laps around Konoha, then we're going learn Shunshin and make our way to the ninja store to buy a little something before coming back here and focusing on taijutsu and chakra control. Clear?" Sasuke nodded. "Now let's start. No stopping."

The six laps around Konoha left him feeling like he'd need all the world's oxygen. He could barely breathe! Kakashi told him how to focus his chakra for a Shunshin, since there were no hand seals required. A few surprisingly draining tries later. He finally appeared before Kakashi's designated location, where he found the one eyed jounin reading his little orange book. The store was called Nin-Op, apparently the best place to shop in town for a ninja.

They entered the store and were greeted by the face of the young, ordinary teen girl on her shift. "Welcome to Nin-Op, how may I help you?"

The Uchiha bestowed Kakashi with a questioning look. "Well?"

"Weight tags, the heaviest you've got and a set of senbon, a katana, and a bokken."

The brunette stalked off and returned a few minutes later with a stack of fifteen weight tags, a pouch full of senbon and a plain katana and bokken. "That'll be 5 000 ryo please." (A/N: I'm using ryo since its a currency in the Naruto games. At least the ones I've played.)

Kakashi looked expectantly at the Uchiha. Sasuke was tempted to swear colourfully. That was almost the total sum of what the Hokage had sent him for that month. He'd have to take a few C-ranks to get up to scratch. They shunshin'ed back to training ground seven, where Kakshi instructed Sasuke to put a tag on each limb and one on his back. They stuck with chakra, and he pumped the necessary amount to activate them. And he collapsed.

"F***!" the Uchiha swore. "It's so heavy!"

Now he could say he appreciated Atlas for what he did. "And that's not all." Kakashi eye-smiled. "You'll have to fight me like that, on the water. Doesn't that sound like fun? Oh, and no Sharingan!"

Sasuke Uchiha was, unfortunately, no longer a happy man...

* * *

Sakura Haruno was, it was safe to say, having a much better morning than her unlucky Uchiha team mate so far. For one, she'd presented herself to the Hokage at around nine, since that was when she was completely sober. Then she'd been given a bunch of scrolls and texts on human anatomy to study. That basically, had been her morning so far. What bothered her most would be the shouts and curses she heard from somewhere within the village. And she had the strange feeling absolutely no one was hearing them. Another of Konoha's many phenomena.

Deciding to take a little break, she went out onto the veranda of the Hokage Tower. Tsunade had left her in the office, saying she had a meeting to be at. Sakura didn't mind being alone, in fact she welcomed the solitude. It gave her time to think. Would she ever see Naruto again? Quite unlikely. But if they ever crossed paths, she would give that brave old idiot a good slap on the back, which would probably snap his spine, with the new super strength techniques she was learning.

She'd heard about Sasuke, and she had to say she was glad Tsunade hadn't had him handed over to that old madman Danzo. He might be a respected veteran (he even knew the Nidaime), but really, golden oldies controlling mindless ANBU? Not her cup of tea. Or Sasuke's. Kakashi would be training him seriously. Maybe that was where all the screaming was from.

"Sakura?" the voice pulled her sharply out of her thoughts.

"Tsunade-sama!" she bowed apologetically. "I was in need of some fresh air, so I came up here. I apologize for not asking for your permission first-"

"It's okay." the Hokage said, leaning on the railing and looking down upon her village. Sasuke was still cursing loudly. "That Uchiha's sure having a tough day. Guess Kakashi's not much of a softie after all."

Sakura remained silent. Sasuke's screaming was quite horrifying if anything. And did she hear barking?

"I guess I should continue with my own training as well." Sakura said, about to go back into the office, but Tsunade stopped her.

"How much chakra would you say you have?"

"I...I honestly don't know, but I know its increased quite a bit since my mission in Wave. Why?"

Tsunade grinned. Sakura decided she would never like that grin. "We're going to be summoning...slugs."

Sakura had to resist the urge to gag.

* * *

Tazuna laughed. He laughed like Kami had just wet himself, or the Sage of Six Paths was afraid of the dark. I most definitely was not happy.

"But I can do it!" I protested. "I'll build my own village, you'll see!"

"I...I'm sure you will." Tazuna said in between fits of laughter. The old bridge builder straightened his face, becoming serious. "But really, it'll be a long time before you'll be able to start a village, let alone have the skills and knowledge to do it. It'd take at least ten tears to gather the resources, find the clans you'll need, gain the power and respect, find an _actual_ place to build it. And there's much more besides, like food, water, electricity, a daimyo, a source of funds and that could be millions of ryo!"

Tsunami, Shinkirou and a somewhat excited Inari nodded profusely. "And you say you want to set something up here? A mission service?"

"Yeah!" I said, glad to finally be getting somewhere. "Since there are already buildings, sources of the stuff we need, I thought maybe I could set up a ninja Academy here, then recruit some ronin to work for the Wave. Note that I just want to do some missions to raise money for this village and myself to sustain my travels. Then I'll be moving to Kirigakure, do more missions there, befriend some clans. I might have to go around the world befriending people for years just to get the political support I need! And I'm only fourteen!"

"Indeed!" Tazuna said, "And that means you gotta grow up. Still using the word 'boo-boo'?" He chuckled. "You might want to hit chunin level before you try teaching anyone anything. I'll have some posters put up, maybe have an Academy built. In the meantime, you can use the square near the gates. D'you know its called The Frosty Square? And that the marble looks like ice? Never mind. Enjoy the hospitality of my home while I sort things out."

I thanked the old man, and vowed to train seriously. Jiraiya's scroll must hold a lot of secrets. If I wanted to get stronger, I was gonna have to be a lot more organised. It was about three in the afternoon, so after kindly accepting a nice cold drink, I went up to the room I'd been given to sleep in and unfurled Jiraiya's scroll till the long shaft of wood in the middle was exposed. It traversed the entire length of the room. I saw some strange things like 'Hiraishin', 'Frog Kata' and a lot more things. So I started at the very beginning. The seal written basic had more scrols in it. There were simple genjutsu, some taijutsu scrolls, ninjutsu and basic fuuinjutsu.

I took the scrolls I needed, including the doujutsu scroll and went into Tazuna's plain sandy back yard. I started off on the taijutsu, opening up the scroll. I was met with another seal. Sighing I unsealed it. I almost fainted.

"Yondaime!"

* * *

"Well, Sasuke." Kakashi said, eye smiling, "Let's call it a day. The sun was beginning to set over the heads of the Hokage. (A/N:Time difference between Wave and Konoha. Makes sense if you ask me.) No, this Uchiha was definitely _not _amused.

* * *

The tiny pinpricks of light pierced the vast darkness. To the outside world this place didn't exist. But the man who resided here was rather fond of the dark. He simply walked, not needing a light as his eyes could see it all, with the modifications he'd made on them. He was fast approaching the throne.

"Greetings, friend. I hope I am not disturbing your peace."

"Not at all. What do you have for me? I know you came to make another one of your deals."

"That's right. The Kyuubi vessel has foolishly been banished from his village. I know how much you want for the power of the Bijuu. However, you to have something I desire. In exchange for the brat, I want one of those eyes of yours."

Lining the walls were hundreds of test tubes containing eyes in swirling liquid. Some were of the Sharingan, others of the Byakugan and the rest of powers long thought lost. The man on his throne smiled. The smile of a madman. "It depends. Yes, I do want the Bijuu. But I want the boy alive. It matters not if he is in perfect health or on Death's Door."

The other man smiled, his eyes glowing with pleasure. "Then it is agreed." He turned his back, walking back to the main entrance. "I hope your tools are still...sharp."

He disappeared. 


	4. Training Camp Hell

**The Apprentice of Time**

**A/N: ** Sorry for having not updated for a while, but I had exams, and my dad's a strict guy. Let's leave it at that. Anyway, this chapter is going to be lot longer than the others, so let's get started. I'm on vacation for three weeks, so updates will be more regular and hopefully longer.

* * *

**Training Camp Hell**

"Yondaime!"

"That's right. I'm a clone, actually, and I've got only four hours, so let's not waste time. Now I'll do by with the niceties and introduce you to the first part of training to be the best; physique. You're going to be running a little obstacle course, something I like to call hell."

He reached into his coat and pulled out a scroll. Unfurling it, he stepped on the centre kanji of the seal inscribed on the rectangular paper and formed the ram seal. The hugest puff of smoke I'd ever seen occurred. It took a while to clear, in which time I took the liberty of coughing innocently.

The moment the grey haze disappeared, I wished I'd chosen something other than taijutsu. There was what some would call a death trap right in front of me. It was like a jungle, trees here and there, and riddled in between were various logs, ropes, ladders, rails, blades sticking out of the ground, flagpoles, and every other sort of thing you'd use for a trap.

The Yondaime grinned. "Your goal is simple, you just have to get to the other side. We'll be doing this each morning, so I expect improvement. By the time you leave Wave, you should be able dodge _everything _that comes at you. It took me a year, but we haven't got that kind of time, as you are aware. A month should be enough. Now go."

Reluctantly I stepped onto the first few molecules of sand that made up the course. Nothing happened. Thinking it a walk in the park, I took a few more steps forward. Again nothing happened. So I broke into a jog and stopped before a log. Oh, that rhymed! That almost got me killed too. A spear of all things came flying at me like a missile, and I barely dodged it with kawarimi. Big mistake. Something snapped and a flock of arrows was heading at me from behind. I dived out of the way, huffing and puffing, when the ground exploded abruptly. Four spikes of rock nearly screwed me thrice and once over.

I jumped back to the start as fast as I could. First ten seconds and I'd nearly been impaled six times! If only I had the Jikokugan! The Yondaime couldn't help but grin even wider. He seemed to be enjoying this more than I was.

"I haven't got all day, you know. Just make a hundred yards, than we'll start on the ninjutsu!"

The promise of ninjutsu spurred me on, and slowly but surely, I began to make some headway. It took a lot of stabs, cuts, burns, grazes and sprains, but I reached a hundred yards. The Yondaime applauded, quite impressed.

"That was only two hours, huh? Great. Heal up and we'll start off with jutsu practice."

I said nothing as I collapsed, barely registering the puff of smoke that indicated the obstacle course had disappeared. I don't know what happened in between, but a few seconds later, as it felt, someone kicked me awake. It was the Yondaime.

"You've gotten your hour of rest, now its time for ninjutsu. Get up and get ready for a good lecture!"

I immediately stood up and dusted myself off as the Yondaime began speaking about elements.

"There are six elements-"

"Five."

"Six, according to smart people's reckoning. Earth, Fire, Wind, Water, Lightning and Gravity. Time applies to all things, so its considered a combination of all six. Again, smart people's reckoning. Put simply, chakra is a base form, just pure energy. What you have to do to perform a ninjutsu is to change the pure chakra into the chakra of that element. Certain people can't do certain elements. This is why we have to know your element, which is Fūton if I'm not mistaken. However, despite my current knowledge, that bloodline of yours might encompass something to do with elements, since it is a time dōjutsu. Channel some chakra into this."

He fished a small square of paper from his pocket and handed it to me. Once again I felt a little reluctant to do as he said. But I did. And the poor thing split in four and one piece got soaked, the other crumpled, one burst into flames and the fourth turned to dust. And guess what? The Yondaime was _gaping_!

"Heh, what do you know, you've gone and surprised me again! Now for your first lesson in the art of ninjutsu. Hand seals. Lecture time!"

I groaned, a little exasperated. "SO," the most frequently spoken word in my life, "Hand seals are basically used to control the flow of chakra, the faster you are with them the faster you can change direction. Hand seals aren't always necessary, so you can learn to use any jutsu with just one, like the Endan, easiest fire jutsu ever. Even the Gōkakyū, you'd only need the ending seal, tiger.

"Oh, right, there are twelve hand signs each following the zodiac; bird, boar, dog, dragon, ox, tiger, snake, rat, horse, monkey, rabbit and finally ram. Each one moulds chakra in a specific pattern pertaining to a specific element or purpose, which is hard to explain. Mind you there could be a thousand other unknown seals unique to different clans, as it is easy to recognise what sort of jutsu you're doing through hand seals.

"Now we're going to be learning the Endan. And we're going to be using one seal only, a bit of a challenge for a genin. Up to it?" I nodded, determined to improve more, even if I couldn't last against a chūnin for more than a few minutes after I'd mastered this.

"Just form the tiger seal, breath in and channel chakra to your lungs- make sure you get the timing right- and blow. Keep your fingers in the tiger until you need to blow, that's where you need your thumb and index finger, like blowing a balloon. Now go for it!" The last part was said with the tiniest, tentacle like bit of encouragement. I formed the seal, breathed in while channelling the chakra and I felt my mouth grow warm. I blew out fiercely and...a little ball of flame came out. It didn't even feel hot.

"Good, you've got the principle, now add more power!"

I repeated the process several times over, relishing in the satisfied look of the Yondaime as the Endan grew hotter and hotter until at last it burnt the grass raw within a meter of it.

"Excellent, and only half an hour. You have good aptitude for ninjutsu apparently. Next, the Hōsenka no Jutsu. Just do the Endan several times, like throwing kunai, at the targets."

He clapped his hands together and six separate human shaped targets appeared. Progress was a little slow at first, but eventually I managed to hit the targets with a space of a spilt second each, almost as fast as Sasuke...I listened to the Yondaime's next words to distract me from my thoughts.

"Now the Gōkakyū. This will take a lot more chakra, a breeze in your case. Same principle, what I like about katon ninjutsu. Skip to it!"

I concentrated as best I could, forming the seal and charging up as much chakra as I could, breathing in at the same time. When I blew I couldn't believe it. The thing was huge, almost the same size as the house. I heard shouts and the Yondaime, lightning fast, pulled something out of his coat and opened it. There was a surge of blue chakra and a flash. When the light subsided, the fireball had disappeared and Tazuna was shouting at the top of his voice.

"-WILL NOT TOLERATE BLOODY FIREBALLS THAT COULD RAZE MY PROPERTY TO THE GROUND!"

"That was an accident, Tazuna-san." Yondaime said. "I apologise on the kid's behalf; it was me who told him to put a lot more chakra, and I overestimated his control."

Tazuna froze. "Aren't you..."

"I'm a clone." He seemed to be getting tired of explaining himself. Tazuna bowed apologetically, shuffling back into his house to get back to whatever it was he had been doing. The Yondaime threw me the scroll he'd taken out and used on the fireball.

"Your jutsu's in there. We would normally proceed to genjutsu, but since your control practically sucks and I'm not into it myself, we'll be doing fuuinjutsu. So what do you know about seals?"

I scratched my head in shame as I shrugged. "I only know that you can store stuff using seals...that's it, dattebayo."

"Well, at least you know a fraction of what seals do. In truth, they do much more. They can drain, empower, recycle, destroy, create, transport, activate other things, and the list is endless. Now the first thing you might want to learn about seals is the Kuchiyose seal, and it will also give you a chance to learn how to summon. Summoning uses a transportation- space/time- to transport or 'summon' an object, be it a summoning animal, like the toads, or simply any object that is within another dimension. So I'm going to teach you to summon things other than toads, and maybe even to create a summoning contract for other beings.

"Summoning jutsu are normally used to assist you in a fight, so I'll teach you a defensive jutsu that uses summoning. It's called the Kūhakumon, or space gate. You don't have to sign your name in blood or anything, you've just got to know the hand seals. Ox-Boar-Bird-Hare- then slam both palms to the ground. Practice the seals first till you can do them at a good speed."

I did as he said and practised the sequence, gradually gaining speed until the Yondaime deemed it fast enough for then. He moved a kunai toss away, and gave me a thumbs-up. I moulded the chakra, and when I felt was ready, slammed both hands to the ground, on one knee. There was a puff of smoke and the gate, this time about the same size as the doors of a palace, appeared. It seemed to go nowhere. There was a swirling, ever-changing something beyond the bars. I could tell it would pull anything through and make it almost impossible for it to be retrieved.

"Come over here, Naruto!"

I heeded the Yondaime's call and joined him a safe distance from the gate. "This gate will take anything, and the more chakra you use the bigger it'll get, so you could even send the Ichibi through this, but it'd find a way out, I'm sure. We're going to test the gate using a Raiton ninjutsu I will teach you now, simply called the Raiton: Arashi Bakudan no Jutsu. It works like the Endan, except you'll be using the ram seal for it. All 'ball' shaped jutsu have the same principle, they just have different names and effects when performed in different ways. Try it on the Kūhakumon."

I used the same principle, this time trying to focus more on lightning. It almost worked. I blew out and I saw a few cackles of blue electricity. The Yondaime was pondering something. "It seems you need more chakra control training."

He reached into his nifty old coat and pulled out a disc, about the size of a shuriken, of the whitest wood I'd ever seen. "First, try channelling lightning chakra into this. Once you've got the hang of it, try cutting it in half. Its not as easy as it seems, you know."

He had seen my feral grin, and mischievous eyes as I listened, and when I tried as he said as I was handed the smooth disc of presumably chakra grown wood, I received a jolt up my arm, numbing it. The Yondaime consented to explain as

"If you channel too much chakra into that, it rejects it and sends it back to you full force. If too little, nothing happens. Its used to build the walls around villages with a specific range of chakra patterns programmed into it, naturally of course, that only ninja of that village know. The older portions of Konoha are made of it. You can try more later, it is high time I took a break to maybe absorb some chakra. You know, helps me last longer, even though you can summon more of me from other scrolls. And the sun's setting."

I hadn't been keeping track of time, and apparently a lot of it had passed. The normally clear, bright light had dimmed to a rusty red that gave the place an unearthly glow. The Yondaime stalked off, jumping over Tazuna's high wall and into the unknown. I went back into the house, taking the scrolls with me, and collapsed on my bed after a good shower.

* * *

Over time, I established a routine. The Yondaime would return each morning to have me run the obstacle course, a newer and more difficult one than the first one, which I'd mastered to a certain degree. Then he'd teach me the Kawazu Kumite, Frog Kata, unique to toad summoners. He said that there was something called 'senjutsu' involved, but he couldn't teach me that until I went to some place called 'Myōbokuzan'. In the afternoons until sunset we'd work on ninjutsu and fuuinjutsu. Every few days , I'd have to re-summon the Yondaime, using any scroll. Basically, the assortment of scrolls labelled advanced this and lower intermediate that were all just to summon a new Yondaime, who retained all the knowledge the previous clones had, something I'd never realised worked that way on Bunshin.

Once in a while, Shinkirou would stop by and ask the Yondaime to help her out with ninjutsu or taijutsu, otherwise she trained by herself somewhere. I'd always savour the moment she met the Yondaime, it's one hell of a story- for another time. I was slowly getting more powerful, not enough to fight on the field of battle, as quoted by the Yondaime, but good enough for a high C-Rank mission, BC-Rank, as it was called during his time.

The first three months of my stay in Wave had passed. Tazuna's attempts to start a Ninja School had been successful enough. I had about twelve 5-7 year old kids I could teach, and about two and a half dozen from 8-12. The teens were only nine and the adults were only able to learn how to use chakra to a certain extent, as it had grown dormant in them over time. The rest were either unable to use chakra or had other roles to fulfil in the development of the Wave Country.

Today, I was going to teach the kids their first jutsu. I rotated on who I taught personally, as I had clones at my disposal. We met as usual at the Frosty Square, where we separated into the three groups. The kids were excited and jumpy today, but would probably be disappointed I wasn't going to teach them anything flashy.

"Morning, little ninja." They screamed their response, prompting some curious looks from the visiting merchants and other peoples. "Today, were going to be learning the Kawarimi. This is how you do it..."

I went on to explain and demonstrate the technique, which I did with hand seals because they still couldn't mould chakra that well. Soon enough, I had them trying to do it as fast as they could. For little kids, they learnt quite quickly. Once they were proficient enough with it, I told them to keep working on it using less seals each time, and switched with the clone working with the next group.

They were learning the Kanashibari no Jutsu, and doing quite well. Some were able to initiate it faster than others, but otherwise they were all quite good at it.

The teen group were doing taijutsu, having mastered all the jutsu from E-D-rank they needed to know. I'd probably introduce them to C-ranks in the next few days. They were learning a civilian style, some variant of kung-fu the sensei was a master of.

The adults were meditating, learning to become 'in sync' with their chakra, as the teachers at the Academy had once taught my class. I'd learnt it by myself after hearing it from a, at the time, rather generous Sasuke. My thoughts began to go amok again before I got a distraction in the form of Shinkirou. She'd changed in appearance over the time. She was an inch or two taller, and she wore some black feminine Yondaime-like outfit with a shorter cape and sleeve length, of course. I'd taken to wearing baggy black shorts, an orange shirt with a white swirl and a black hooded sweater with several hidden pockets. My sandals were the traditional black.

"The Yondaime wants to see you, Naruto." Shinkirou stated rather blandly. "He says there's some technique you need to advance in."

I knew a good amount of techniques, around thirty, but there was one I knew he'd want to perfect. I left it to the clones to finish teaching while we left for Tazuna's. The streets were even bigger and brighter than the first time I'd seen the new and improved Wave. There were new buildings, more people, a thriving market, several enterprises and a couple of decent parks. The Academy had yet to be built. Tazuna said he'd need a blueprint of an Academy to base theirs on. He was over-exaggerating by using the word 'blueprint' though. I told him I'd write to Tsunade and ask her for a copy of the initial Konoha Academy building plan.

The large gates of the 'Mayor's house were in sight. As soon as we reached them, they recognised our chakra signatures and let us through, a little security I'd installed through my skill in fuuinjutsu.

The Yondaime was sitting against the Kūhakumon I'd summoned what seemed ages ago and hadn't bothered to get rid of, working on some seal on a piece of paper. He sometimes came up with the weirdest stuff, like seals that made loud noises when they detected farts and some that changed appearance according to the phases of the moon.

He stowed away his paper and writing utensils, cracking his knuckles and stretching. Shinkirou was still there apparently intent on seeing what this jutsu was. The Yondaime didn't seem to mind.

"I want you perfect my Rasengan. That is, mix it with your element, possibly make it bigger. You might be a lot more inventive with a Rasengan that I am, so I'll give you some of my ideas, and you can add onto it. The first thing I though of was being able to form a Rasengan in each hand. It could be useful to have a second strike at the enemy, or hit two of them. The other was incorporating Fūton, which I can't do with my limited chakra capacity. So the first thing to do is to perfect the Rasengan you already have and the time it takes to form it. So its square one again."

I unsealed the equipment from the seal labelled 'Spiral' in Jiraiya's scroll, which I'd taken to carrying around with me after I discovered the joy of tattoo seals. There was a bucketful of water balloons, and another of rubber balls. I hopped right to it, bursting the first balloon and improving by a few milliseconds each balloon. By the time I was half-way through, I could burst the balloon a second after I'd touched it. I moved on to the next exercise, the Yondaime watching me throughout the process. The times slowly dwindled to almost instantaneous perfection. The second exercise had taken half an hour, when it had taken me at least a day the first time, if I remembered well. The Yondaime's bolder lifting exercises had certainly paid off.

"Good. Now for the real thing." He watched as I formed the Rasengan. It took me six seconds. It slammed the ball of energy into a boulder the Yondaime had prepared. It shattered the moment the technique made contact. The Fourth seemed satisfied, but not enough. I'd learnt to read his face over the few months I'd known him, and I could tell it had to be much better. Shinkirou, who surprisingly had been silent the whole while, was staring in awe.

"So what do I need to improve?" I asked, flexing my hand.

"Make it more compact. And try learning to do it with your left hand. Whichever you want to work on first."

I set to learning it with my left hand, struggling to channel the chakra properly. I tried harder each time, and an hour passed before I reached a desirable speed with my left hand. The rubber balls took even longer. By the time I managed it, it was time for lunch. I had some sushi I prepared- having been coached by Tsunami in all things kitcheny. Once I had eaten, I went back to work. Shinkirou was absent, having gone to probably scour the new books that were being brought into the library that day.

Two more hours passed. Just as the Yondaime seemed about ready to give up- even he had his limits- the ball burst.

"Yes!"

The Yondaime looked relieved. "At last. Now try it out already!"

He watched intently as I focused, forming the chakra and compressing it at the same time. It took a full minute, with all my concentration directed at it. It was complete. It was little larger and about ready to burst. It was about blow up in my face, so I hurriedly slammed it into the boulder. And it acquired a large crack. A _crack_. The Yondaime frowned disappointedly.

"Needs a lot more work. You'll work on that later. For now, Fūton training. Cut this in half." He plucked a small leaf off a nearby tree and placed it in my hand. He proceeded to explain nature transformation in a greater depth than he had before.

"I once explained how chakra is changed to elements, right? Well, let me elaborate a little. When changing or transforming the nature of your chakra, its like how a computer works- input, processing, output. You take your regular chakra, use a focal point to change the chakra- a thought, emotion, etcetera- and transform it into the desired element. This is a bit harder to do with just your thoughts, so you will be using your hand- that is the centre of your palm- as a focal point. The chakra will travel down your arm, and once it reaches that point, it should transform. This needs some will power, kind of like what magicians do. You take care of the focus and the chakra will do its job. This is what you must do. In the case of wind, thinning the chakra, making it more compact, will cut the leaf."

I stared at the mass of green plant cells, contemplating whether or not it could work properly. I had a strong willpower- it was where I had to focus it that was the problem. Normally it would be directed at the solution of an issue. An outward problem. So I'd never learnt to focus my will internally. I closed my eyes, determined to see it through. I visualized the focal point, and channelled my chakra towards it, It slowed down as the point was reached. I slowly began to change, becoming a brighter blue than my regular chakra. I focused intently, thinning the chakra and sending it through the leaf...I opened my eyes, releasing the chakra flow. On the leaf, just barely visible, was the smallest of cuts...

"Looks like we have a lot of work to do." I couldn't help but agree.

* * *

He loved the morning air. It was cool, not too cold, just bearable enough. It was easier to breathe, and he felt almost free, like it would carry him away. Oddly enough, he was a fire user with limited freedom and a cyclops for a sensei.

Sasuke slid the door to the balcony of his apartment shut behind him, instinctively using Shunshin to carry himself to Training Ground Seven. It was empty at this time, a Saturday. He went through his daily drills, starting off with a hundred kicks and punches before moving on to kata and sword practice. He could feel himself growing in power. Faster than what Orochimaru could have given him, or so he hoped. He had learnt a large repertoire of Raiton and Katon jutsu, he was summoning ravens and using a katana. He was garbed in traditional ninja attire, a lighter colour than black, and looked like any regular genin. The chūnin exams were coming up in a month's time, and he knew he was more than ready. He just needed to polish up his ninjutsu and work on maintaining his Sharingan for extended periods of time. He was fast and strong, thanks to Kakashi's weights, and his genjutsu was naturally excellent. Sakura was fast improving, already somewhere near his level in speed and way above him in strength, an effect of training under Tsunade of the Sannin.

Ten minutes later, Kakashi arrived. He had slipped out of his habit of continuously arriving late, since Sasuke had near boundless patience. The jounin seemed quite disgruntled.

"What's the matter, Kakashi-sensei? Bed bugs bite?"

Kakashi shook his head. "Its about Naruto..."

"Something happen...?"

"They're planning an assassination...hunter-nin. Don't try to stop them."

Sasuke Uchiha was no good at following rules. He swiftly deactivated his weights and Shunshined away. Kakashi berated himself. "I shouldn't have said that."

**

* * *

**

How's that? Leave a review please! 2300Hrs down here.


	5. Life Goes On

** The Apprentice of Time**

**A/N: **Well, someone is clearly not happy with something I did. Reviewer-san, I see you are very skilled with emotions, but I feel inclined to say "Why should you think Sasuke's being trained for Hokage?" What Kakashi said was a decoy, to some extent. He was just going to train Sasuke, and besides since when was it Sasuke's ambition to be Hokage? And remember Kakashi said_"...and __**hopefully**__ groom him into the next Hokage..." _Its not that I'm making Sasuke the ruler of Konoha. Naruto knows he'll be the founding Kage of his village, which will have better people than those in Konoha who treated him badly. He doesn't even _know _Sasuke's being trained by Kakashi. Oh, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't say 'love each other', that's going a State Building too high. You're right though, Naruto is quite pissed at the Elders, so to speak.

Here's chapter five.

* * *

** Life Goes On...**

A twig snapped. It was barely audible, like a stray thought, but I jumped off my bed drew a kunai and prepared for an attack. Nothing came. Just cricket chirps. Thinking it to be my exhaustion from cutting leaves and waterfalls, I sat on my bed, rubbing the remaining sleep from my eyes. The chirping stopped. I peeked through the curtains and saw that the first dregs of light had arisen, like a layer of thin blue light, over the horizon. Wait...something moved. The annoying chirping started again. Hold on...

As fast as I could, which is pretty fast, I pulled open the window, jumped out onto the balcony and slammed my hand into the spot I'd sensed. I was not disappointed. The air around the area flickered, and the body of a hunter-nin revealed itself. _So they've found me out..._I scanned the yard, looking intently at each of the bushes. Where were the rest? A shadow, barely noticeable to me and impossible to see with a regular eye. I swiftly activated my Jikokugan. _There..._ I threw my kunai at the hidden ninja, who appeared before me, masked and holding something...a piece of paper with the kanji 'sen' and 'tori'. One thousand birds...?

I grabbed hold of the mask and pulled it sharply off the nin's face. What...? Now way...it was...

"Sasuke! What the hell are you doing here!"

The raven haired teen seemed rather calm as he stripped out of his hunter-nin garb."Damn, that guy was big! I came to take care of this little assassination attempt-"

"Quiet." I'd seen a a concentrated mass of chakra, a powerful ninja perhaps, hiding among the bushes. It couldn't be the Yondaime, he'd disappeared yesterday. Sasuke had his Sharingan on. He could also see the chakra mass. "Same routine..?"

I shrugged. "Guess so."

I jumped of the balcony and unsealed a Fūma shuriken, throwing it at the nin. He caught it, just as I'd planned, and threw it back, flitting away from the bush he'd been hiding behind and stopping somewhere near my first Kūhakumon. I flew through seals and shouted; "Raiton Kuchiyose: Arashimori!"

Human sized spikes of earth sprouted from the earth surrounding the Kūhakumon, surrounding and battering it with waves of blue electricity. I sensed the nin lose consciousness and ended the jutsu, appearing before the unconscious hunter-nin as the spikes receded into the ground. He hadn't even fought back. Way too convenient...

I turned around in time to receive a good punch in my face from a gloved hand. Of course...even if Sasuke knew about the assassination attempt, it would take him a number of hours to reach me. I reacted in kind, kicking my attacker back and spitting a fireball at him for good measure. This one was indeed a hunter-nin. So they only sent one, knowing he was skilled enough to beat me...? He must have been at least jounin level, which meant I had to go all out. I created six clones, each attacking the hunter-nin. He didn't notice me switch with one of my clones and isolate it, the same tactic I'd used against Neji. He took the bait and I took my chance, covering my hand in compressed Fūton chakra, a technique based off the Chidori I called Joukaiken. I speared him in the back, watching closely as blood shot out of his chest...It turned out to be a log. I spun around and blocked a strike from a sword with a chakra enhanced kunai.

The hunter nin clapped his hands, a seal which was normally used in binding jutsu. I gave him a roundhouse him in the face, launching him into the air, and followed up with a good old fashioned Naruto Rendan. Wasting no time, I charged up another Joukaiken and slammed it into his stomach. His eyes widened, but otherwise he did not betray his pain. I flew through more hand seals, looking to bind him where he was. "Doton: Tsuchi Soutei!"

Ropes burst from the ground an looped around the prone hunter-nin. I drew a kunai and held it to his throat. "Who sent you?"

"I have...n-no intention of-"

I pressed the kunai deeper into his throat, almost enough to cut. "Don't play games with me. Who sent you?"

He shuddered, not daring to swallow before he spoke, "Th-the elders. I was only performing my-"

"Don't give me excuses. I know why they sent you."

I blocked his tenkutsu using basic Hyūga like taijutsu, taking a tag similar to an explosive note, one of my special ones, and sticking it onto his forehead.

"That thing will drain all your chakra till you die. Just hope your comrades get here in time." I hadn't told him it could only drain that much chakra, that he might have more than what the seal could drain. I jumped up to my window and slipped back in, packing up all my stuff into my scrolls and putting them in my backpack. I left a letter behind for Tazuna, apologising. If they already knew my whereabouts through any jutsu they could have placed on the hunter-nin, then I'd have to be gone within the hour, so I couldn't wait for Shinkirou. But if Sasuke was actually on his way here...no, the elders could have sent him as well, I couldn't risk it.

I set off in the direction off for the port, using chakra to increase my speed and the height of my jumps. The moment I reached the concrete expanse of the port, a hail of kunai greeted me. They'd somehow managed to intercept me. This time, a team of three ANBU stood forebodingly on the churning water. _Crap..._

I'd need back-up in a fight like this. I raced through the appropriate seals and summoned the toad boss, Gamabunta.

"What is it this time, boy?" the overly large and warty red toad announced. "You summoned me to fight three ningen?"

"I need your help, these guys are all sure to be at least elite jounin level, about as strong as Hatake Kakashi. You've heard of them right? ANBU?"

Gamabunta seemed quite offended. "What do you take me for, a dumb animal? Of course I know ANBU!"

"Great, then lets burn them to a crisp!" I shouted, going through the seals of a jutsu I needed Gamabunta for, "Katon: Gamyu Endan!"

I blew a stream of fire onto the large globule of oil Gamabunta spat out. While they were distracted by the insanely large fireball, I made three Mizu Bunshin, which took a bit of chakra out of me. They each confronted one of the ANBU, and I watched and planned as they fought and defeated the Bunshin with taijutsu. Not that that wouldn't have been an obvious outcome. I made six Kage Bunshin this time and I took three with me to confront the ANBU. I drew two kunai to fight with, kicking one of the ANBU and slashing at another, The third was kept busy by the two clones, who were putting up an excellent fight using Joukaiken and chakra enhanced shuriken. One of the ANBU I was facing began going through various seals. I knew that jutsu...

A huge water dragon, bigger even than Zabuza's, flew down at me. I kept my Jikokugan focused on it, and it slowed down by a good amount, as had the rest of the world. I only had ten seconds when I used Jikoku Saihatsu. I jumped up onto the dragon, sliding down towards the ANBU, and I used a Rasengan on him, sending him flying across the water in slow motion while the other ANBU, just as slow, tried to jump away. I caught him by the strap that made his mask and threw him up, using Joukaiken to stop his frightening upward ascent. The Saihatsu dissipated and the world returned to its normal speed. The ANBU I'd slammed with a Rasengan was still flying several metres. He stopped a good distance away from his comrade, who had fallen into the water and was struggling to climb out of the heavy and salty substance.

The third ANBU had just gotten rid of my clones, but he didn't react in time as I used a Joukaiken on him. It didn't injure him much, just a stab in the shoulder, but he lost some of his balance and movement. Gamabunta bound him with his tongue and one of the three clones on top of the toad jumped down and used a Water Prison to keep the injured shinobi where he was. His two comrades had recovered and one of them made a hand seal. The water beneath me exploded and I switched with a clone as fast as I could as what seemed like a large spike of water bore down upon me.

Predictably, the other ANBU was trying to target me using a wind technique. The water churned and mixed with the wind chakra as the disk of brutal wind and water flew at me at a high speed. I countered with a strong Gokakyu that increased in power thanks to the wind chakra. The fight kept dragging on; they attacked, I countered, they attacked...After I began running low on chakra, I decided to end it. I allowed Gamabunta to leave and, as fast as I could, went through the seventy-four seals I needed for this technique. I'd have to trim it some when I got the chance. "Suiton: Kaijin no Doki!"

The water surrounding the ANBU, who I'd pinned together with the clones, rose up and swirled around them, forming a large sphere. I clapped my hands together and it compressed, crushing the ANBU inside. I hated having to do this, I was no heartless killing machine, but I had no choice. It wasn't strong enough for them to die, anyway. The distance from the dying ANBU was something to savour in my position. I ran across the water as fast as I could, summoning another toad, this time Gamahiro, who carried me across the sea while I recovered my chakra and summoned the Yondaime once again. I explained what had occurred, and he thought for a moment as Gamahiro jumped a further hundred metres. The Wave Village was no longer visible. I was heading towards the Water Country.

"You did well, considering the circumstances. But you took the risk of nearly killing them. That means you now have a crime against Konoha, and you'll be Bingo booked as 'kill on sight', B-Rank. A missing-nin of that level may be targeted by other villages, either to hire to work against your old village or to learn your secrets. Mist may not be allied with Konoha, but going there would be a foolish choice. They don't take kindly to visitors of your kind, and I understand the Three-Tails is lose somewhere near there in the sea. Earth Country would be suicide; they never really liked me."

I knew what this meant. I figured out long ago that the Yondaime could only be my father; when he'd confirmed that I went into this phase where all I could do was wonder what the world had come to. I hadn't trained for a week- that is until Shinkirou had slapped me one day and told me to stop moping around; his sealing of the fox in me didn't mean he hated me, he hadn't meant to give me a tough life- I was supposed to be a hero according to the Sandaime. I realised I was being stupid- what was I sad about anyway? I chuckled.

"Lightning is also an impossible destination- tailed beasts and all. They'd love to have another Jinchuuriki under their control, and they'd do anything for the Nine Tails. Seeing as how we can't slip down to Sea Country, that only leaves us with Myōbokuzan. You need to go there for Sage Training anyway. If you don't mind, Gamahiro?"

Though the toad understood the Yondaime's words, he failed to warn us before he left in a puff of smoke. I landed deftly on the water and waited patiently with the Yondaime. What surprised me was that nothing came- _we _went. I coughed a little as the smoke around me cleared off. I had to say it was one of the coolest and most unreal places I'd ever seen. There were fountains, waterfalls, rock formations, lakes and strange buildings- and everything seemed to glow green.

"Naruto!" Oh no...Gamakichi landed square on my face, and I had to thank Kami he wasn't poisonous- I hoped. There was a tiny, gruff voice somewhere nearby. "Boy...aren't you Jiraiya's student?" I threw Gamakichi off my face absently and looked down at the small old toad. He had a long snowy beard and wielded a sceptre of fine wood. "Er, I was. Until they banished me, that is..."

There was a long, loud grumble above me and Gamabunta, towering over us all, said. "How did you know how to reach Myōbokuzan, boy? You are alone."

And he was right; the Yondaime was nowhere to be seen. "Well, er, I was left instructions...by Jiraiya." I wasn't really lying. I couldn't tell them of the Yondaime clones- they would demand to see him, and he'd kill me for putting him in such a position. The little old toad nodded sagely.

"So yer to become a Sage. I am Fukusaku. Welcome to Myōbokuzan. And yer first step to becoming a great ninja."

Of course, he'd neglected to tell me it would be hell...

* * *

"...You just missed him, kid. What was your name again?"

Sasuke snarled in frustration. "That dobe...huh? Oh, right, you're that old man."

Tazuna had the good grace to shout angrily at Sasuke as the raven haired teen spotted something in the back yard. Not bothering to heed Tazuna's demands of what he was doing there, he slid open the glass door and stepped out onto the bare ground of the back yard. There was a large torii in the middle of it with...what looked like swirling patterns of nothing inside it. He inspected it with his Sharingan. It was like the gate led to an expanse of some kind of chakra, then when he looked on the other side, the chakra disappeared. So it could send things nowhere..."Impressive..."

What really interested him was the lump of human shaped wood that lay next to it. It looked like the remains of an earth clone, except it was wood. He could see faint wisps of chakra around it, a few hours old. A shade of green he'd seen only once before, around an ANBU, and also the chakra of the first few trees around Konoha. Definitely a Bloodline Limit. The Shodai Hokage's, to be exact. "Wow, they must really hate that dobe." If ANBU were after him, then it wasn't really his place to meddle. He'd be far away by now, and he was sure the village would notice if he wasn't around. He bid the old man goodbye and left for Konoha. The venture hadn't been entirely pointless...

* * *

"Come on, Naruto! What's so hard about sealin' away a bloody boulder!"

"It's because this boulder of yours blows up whenever I try to seal it! Why else!"

It was only the seventh day of training, and yet it felt like an even hotter hell than what the Yondaime had given me. For one, it wasn't obstacle courses- it was battling Gamabunta using nothing but taijutsu with a Four-Limb Weight Seal on you! And sealing away a boulder covered in exploding tags _using _chakra _without _the boulder exploding? F***!

And on top of that, they had me levitating detonate-on-impact scrolls while trying to cut the hugest- a mile long- waterfall. And that was just ninjutsu. Genjutsu was either a time limit to break an S-Rank illusion before it drove me to irreversible insanity or a game of 'Solve or Die'. So far, I'd managed to survive the 'Solve or Die' when I'd had to. Irreversible insanity was thankfully an empty threat. Now it was back to sealing exploding boulders. "I've had enough! Teach me senjutsu or I'm leaving this bloody mountain!"

Fukusaku sighed. "What we're doing here is strengthening what ya already know- its just a little more complex. D'ya expect to learn senjutsu without having proper chakra control? That's the reason for the taijutsu, genjutsu, the sealing, the advanced ninjutsu training- ta prepare ya."

"Well you could have said that in the first place..." I grumbled, fingering a large bruise from the day before when I'd fought Gamabunta. "But what _exactly_ is the taijutsu supposed to do?"

"Balance your physical and spiritual chakra. Ya might have impressive stamina, but in all your physical capabilities are limited."

I sighed and got up, stretching. "Don't you think I'm strong enough to take a mission from some Daimyo by now?"

"Well ya are, if ya want a B-Rank. We usually get missions from Konoha that we hand over ta Jiraiya- super secret stuff. I'd give ya those, but yer a missing-nin- for reasons I have yet ta find eligible."

I needed cash. My goal wasn't to train in every art- well it involved that- but to find somewhere to build my own home. And I couldn't do that without scouring the world for the right place. Which needed money. To get money, I needed to do missions. And make a name- maybe...the Dark Flash! Nah, that would make people compare me to the Yellow Flash. The Sage of...of...of Something? Whatever, they'd give me a nickname anyway. "Once I finish the senjutsu training, where should I go for missions?"

"Mm, ya might want ta try one of the minor countries- Yukigakure or some such."

That was something to consider. But Water had been the initial destination because of the various bloodline clans there. Not all of them were under the employ of Kirigakure, and I could use that to my advantage. "No, I must see Water Country first. If its too dangerous, you could always summon me back here. Right?"

"Of course. Now back ta yer trainin'! Gamabunta-san!"

"Crap..."

The day ended rather spectacularly, with me advancing in the Four Limb Weight Seal stages by one colour. Fukusaku said the one I wore was modified to mirror the stages of advancement in martial arts. Now I was at yellow, and it had taken me a week. Not bad, but things got harder from then on. Dinner was the usual toad cuisine which I ate and cried at the same time. How I missed my precious ramen. Now I felt like but a slave, reduced to eating pickled locusts and flies dipped in some goo.

The next morning, after the trivial affair that was breakfast, Fukusaku took me to a range of spikes that protruded straight from the ground. There, he explained the concepts of senjutsu.

"Now senjutsu are jutsu that use a new type of chakra- Sage Chakra, a combination of Physical, Spiritual and Natural energy. The Physical and Spiritual come from you while the Natural comes from your environment. Ta gather this energy, ya must become one with the environment. Ta do this, ya must be perfectly still- then ya can gather the energy. What yer gonna do is sit on this here slab of stone, which yer gonna need ta balance yerself on the spike. Once ya can remain perfectly still, ya gonna learn to gather the natural energy."

He pointed the slab of stone, which I picked up and climbed to the top of the spike with using my chakra to stick to the surface. I sat on the slab and fell off. Oops. It took only a week to master staying still. Wanna take a guess at how long it took to actually learn to draw chakra properly, without help from the toad oil? A full six weeks. And I literally became the world's largest bruise...literally. Then, I somehow had an idea. But when you think about it, it wasn't much of an idea.

"What if I could use my Jikokugan!" I screamed in delight one day when Fukusaku asked me what ideas I had to improve on the time it took for me to gather the chakra. The old toad nodded sagely.

"It does slow down time, but from what I can tell, ya can only slow it down to about 10 seconds fer every normal second. If it was, say, half a minute for every second, then ya'd have to improve the time it takes ya ta gather natural energy to thirty seconds so that you will instantly, in real time, be able ta activate Sage Mode. And that needs further advancement in yer bloodline, more information. The biggest record o' bloodlines I've known of was in Kusagakure. Amegakure had the next biggest. Fer such small nations, they knew a lot about Bloodlines, that's fer sure."

Great, more scouring. "Doesn't Myōbokuzan have it's own records?"

"Well it does, but ya can't access it until ya've been fully trained in all o' Myōbokuzan's arts, like Jiraiya and the Fourth Hokage. And they couldn't give ya the information. It's forbidden."

"More training...?" I grumbled.

"More training." the old toad agreed.

"Great..."

"Indeed." He whacked me with his sceptre. "Now get back ta work! Ya've still got another one thousand kunai left to seal."

I grumbled again, sealing another forty kunai into the huge scroll that was supposed to be a part of Myōbokuzan's ultimate weapon jutsu...or so he said. Despite the tough training, I had to say I loved this place.

* * *

"Yer ready."

I paused, about to cut the large boulder in half with my chakra. This was all a bit too much to take in. "What?"

"I said yer ready. Your chakra control is phenomenal- those exercises are the toughest on the planet. Your chakra capacity is monstrous. You've improved your time with gathering natural energy to twenty-nine and a half seconds. Your genjutsu detection and expulsion skills are at least jounin level, your ninjutsu is incredible, you have mastered the Kawazu Kumite to the highest degree. And those weights have almost fallen off."

He was right. The Four Limb Weight Seal had almost reached its climax- it was now at black, and I could feel the beads loosening. I watched breathlessly as they fell with a clatter to the ground, and I felt my body lighten into air. "Wow...How long has it been?"

The old toad sighed. "Two and a half years, son. Not a day ta this old man."

Two years...I hadn't looked in a mirror in two years! Even if water could show me my reflection, I'd been far too busy mastering whatever was thrown at me to notice. I must be a lot taller, stronger, faster- way more than every other of the Konoha 11! Well, that depended on if they'd gotten anywhere with their training, or if they were training at all. Fukusaku smiled. "Here are the fruits of yer long journey, Naruto Uzumaki." A toad poofed out of nowhere, holding a long coat of the same Kind the Yondaime wore. Before the old toad even had the chance to speak, I cried tears of joy and shouted. "Hell yeah!"

"So ya know what this is? Well then, ya earned it, no doubt about that."

It was a deep red with black flames at the bottom. There were two kanji on the back; Time Sage. "Sugoi! I'm the Time Sage, dattebayo!"

"Yep. But try not to let it get to your head- that will make you overconfident against opponents greater than you."

I nodded and slung the coat over my shoulder. The walk back to what had been my room for over seven hundred days was a joyous one. Well, it wasn't really a walk since I got there in two seconds just running. I packed up my stuff in my _own, personal scroll_ given to me by Fukusaku. He said I could put whatever I wanted in it, or even use it for a contract. Sweet. The Toad Boss Gamabunta accompanied me in a puff of smoke. I didn't even have the chance to ask where he was being taken- the Toad Boss didn't , either. When the smoke receded, I had to say I wasn't surprised. I'd have to slap that old toad dead when I next met him. He'd just dropped us at the threshold of Kirigakure, and for all my nerve, the seven or so odd jounin standing in front of me made things a little difficult. Gamabunta was a big help, though. If you thought I was going to fight, you just lost 500 Ryo.

"No harm intended, just passing through." I had my forehead protector on, but still, who said nukenin were allowed in enemy villages?

"State your purpose, stranger..." one of them said, not daring to let down his guard. These guys sure were persistent. Unfortunately, Gamabunta chose that moment to disappear. Great, just great.

"I come in peace. I'm just lookin' for a job, dattebayo. It's not like I want to cause any harm. I'd have done something by now if I did."

Oddly enough, they lowered their respective weapons slightly. "Haru, take him to the Mizukage. She might want to meet this little bugger."

"Hai."

One of the ninja who wore goggles like I used to long ago stepped forward and, before I could react threw something at me. A bunch of ropes exploded outward and grasped me tightly. Oh, I was **kill** Fukusaku, **very slowly** for getting me into this mess. One of them slashed my wrist with a kunai and I couldn't resist as my eyes slowly closed.

* * *

And there's your Naruto Arrives in Mist moment. I need you guys to tell me what you really like and really hate, then maybe we'll be getting somewhere. I might have found a name for Naruto's Village (that's far off, but I'm planning for it) but any suggestions are welcome. The number of timeskips and focus changes may be dizzying, but I'm sure you were quite keen to see Kirigakure, and really, did you want to see a further three chapters of training with only a few visits from certain people in between? Me neither. That will be gone through in another story some other time.


	6. Deal?

**The Apprentice of Time**

I have never owned Naruto. Good old Kishimoto-san does though...and we can't read any more!

* * *

**Deal?**

When I opened my eyes to the world upside down, I had to say it was quite interesting. I was hanging above a circular table at which was gathered various random people. The one that seemed to click the most was the rather beautiful woman who had hair quite similar to my mother's- long story, how I found out about her- except it was a more brown. And those eyes were something that I would naturally come to fear over my time as a rational human being. What sort of blue was that, anyway?

"Ugh...that was one sleeping pill. What a bunch of crackpot Kiri-nin you guys are."

The woman I presumed was the Mizukage from the colour of her clothing and the conical hat sitting on the table in font of her frowned, seemingly displeased. "Who are you and what did you come to my village for, Leaf-nin?"

Ho, this would be something to tell my grandchildren, it would. "I am the ever-feared Naruto Uzumaki and-" I still introduced myself under my mother's name- I'd use dad's name when I met the Tsuchikage, whenever that was.

"Excuse me?" She seemed rather pale compared to a few seconds prior. "Naruto who?"

"Uzumaki, and don't you forget it, dattebayo!"

The rest of the people seated at the table seemed rather flabbergasted. Why was their leader so frightened all of a sudden? "You are...Kushina's son?"

"Yeah...what's it to you?"

"A lot. I want this kid in a maximum security prison now. He's dangerous." Someone was about to slash me with another kunai again when I reacted.

"Hey, wait, I just came to seek employment, really- I didn't even know my mother!" I protested. Max Security was one of the greatest horrors a ninja could face- and I didn't want to see that, let alone think about seeing it.

The Mizukage paused. "You didn't?" I shook my head. "So you do not posses the abilities of an Uzumaki? At all?" Oh, great.

"Well, not really...but seriously, I don't know any clan techniques, I'm just good with seals!"

"Well, its hard to tell you're an Uzumaki. You look more like that Namikaze guy...oh, it can't be! She went and married him?" She pouted. "It seems you inherited his looks...but your personality is definitely your mother's. My my...how old are you?" Oh, bummer. Now I was most definitely not in the right area of conversation. "Er...sixteen?"

"Really now? Those two were quite adventurous indeed...fine, you can stick around, once you prove to me your heritage. Bring in the boy, Haru."

"M-Mizukage-sama, you can't be-" Haru stuttered.

"Bring him now."

Haru reluctantly ducked out of the room and we waited in grave silence for a full minute before he returned with a poor little boy. Even I had to say he looked a little worse for wear. He was wearing a plain white kimono, but that didn't camouflage the wraps of white linen that spanned his entire body up to his wrists and ankles. He seemed sleepy, like he would doze off at any moment.

"Haru-nii, what're we doing here?"

"We came to see a doctor, Matsuro-kun." the child, Matsuro, with hair that was rather like Kakashi's and strange reddish-blue eyes looked up at me, rather perceptive despite his fatigue. One of the jounin untied me and I barely avoided stepping on the Mizukage's hat. Bother.

I crouched before the boy and Haru explained what I had to fix. "You see, Matsuro-kun was born sometime after the bloodline purge ended. We had a problem with a chakra spirit by the name of Ginkiri no Oni, the Demon of the Silver Mist. In order to keep it from endangering the village and to utilize its powers, we sealed it into Matsuro-kun when he was but a babe. Something went wrong, and it affected the boy's growth. He seems to lack energy, or much motivation at all, like his will to do anything, to live, had disappeared."

I nodded grimly. "So these bandages cover up the seal?" I unwrapped the linen, whistling rather mournfully at the sight. It was meant to be a Five Pillar Seal with the limbs bearing most of the characters which led up to one, large kanji on the boy's back. "What kind of seal practician do you have here, Mizukage? They messed up an entire section of the seal- the one that specifies the target. It aimed for the boy instead of the spirit. I'll have to either remove the entire thing and redo it, which could kill him as he's no longer that young, or I could lay another seal that would counteract this one. That would take away some of his abilities the spirit may give him. Well?"

"Lay another one on. We can't risk losing him, if it sets the spirit loose."

"Rightey-o. I'll need some of the kid's blood, unless you'd rather use traditional methods."

One of the ninja present were sent to fetch some blood. If this gained some of the Mizukage's trust, then I might as well do it. The jounin returned some few minutes later with a vial (how evil) of Matsuro's blood. I used it to write all over the kid and on some of the table, which was where I'd lain the boy after I had the Mizukage's permission. They gave me a wide berth as I went through the vast amount of hand seals- ninety-two- needed for the jutsu. Upon finishing the last seal, the symbols written in blood glowed white and began to move towards the centre part of the Five Pillar Seal. The tattoo characters all over the boy's limbs disappeared completely. The part on his back changed. There were now five smaller circles surrounding a larger one. Each small circle had a kanji for the elements surrounding the larger 'sealed' in the middle. It took a lot out of me as I felt a significant drain on my reserves.

I noticed the room gasp. The kid had, of course changed. His hair had darkened to a healthy brown, his eyes became blue once more and gained the energetic and curious demeanour of a real nine-year old. And to put the cherry on top, no pain, all thanks to the expertise of yours truly.

"Woah, everything's so clear. And things sound a lot louder." Matsuro mused, rubbing his eyes. "What are you all staring at?"

"Impressive indeed...you really are Kushina's son."

"I've heard that more times than I can count." I said modestly, "About me not being thrown into max security...?"

The Mizukage smiled for the first time. I had to say she'd give any woman a run for their money- except mum, the bane of all perverts. "I'd rather you become one of my ninja- unfortunately, that wouldn't go down well with the other nations, ignoring whatever it was you did to become a missing-nin. Your family is always and will always be welcome here. I just needed to see the proof..."

Well, that went well. I'd have to ask her just how she met my mother one day. One of the jounin led me out of the large building I assumed was the Mizukage Tower. The city was amazing. It was like being in a shady forest where everything was a rather pale colour of blue, with the buildings made out of some strange material. And best of all, it actually felt a little warm around. I could see some mountains in the misty distance, and despite it being rather unclear around, quite a few people roamed the streets in murmuring crowds. They showed me to an apartment block, which seemed empty, and said that Mizukage would allow me to live there for the duration of my stay. I shrugged and accepted the large bundle of keys he gave me. Great...

It took me a few minutes to find a nice room, at which point it took me a half hour to find the key. It was an appreciable size, a lot bigger than my one room back in Konoha. I had a little cash to spare in old Gama-chan, so I'd stop by the market and buy a futon on my way. Now whenever you enter a new place, you just gotta know more. So I paid the Kirigakure Library a little visit. I had to say it was quite impressive, if not phenomenal. They already had information on me from the time I'd fought the ANBU. And the bingo book stated I was A-Rank at the time, Kiri precaution, kill on sight.

There were a vast amount of water techniques, quite a few control exercises involving water, and even some fire and wind techniques. Interesting...Sealing was at an abysmal low, weaponry had an entire room. Wielding a sword wouldn't be bad, but it didn't fit into my style...maybe a trench knife? No, too hard to change grips. Maybe a short sword...a bit longer than a kunai. I looked it up and grinned- a tanto would be perfect. It was in fact a weapon wielded by most chūnin, so it wouldn't be hard getting someone to teach me to use it. Or I could have my clones practice it...perfect! I found a kenjustu scroll with diagrams and set off for home, as it was now officially named. I had to look up what clans were around the Water Country who were not under the Mizukage's influence.

I bought my futon on the way back and fell asleep the moment I found a satisfying spot on the floor. Jet lag can really get you sometimes...

I woke up rather early, another effect of the time change. The day assumed it natural course for the first hour, during which I did what I normally did in the morning. It was after that I was so spoiled for choice I decided to start from the bottom and work my way up. So clan records it was. And the only place I'd be able to find that was the official record room...which had restricted access if this was a hidden village at all. So a favour was in order...maybe I could ask the Mizukage. But that was a little challenging, even for the great Naruto Uzumaki. Maybe I could break in...no I wasn't an underestimated kid any more. Ugh, I had to stop over thinking things. _Just make a friend. _That wasn't so hard...

I wandered the streets of Kirigakure, visiting all the ramen stands I could find. Nothing tasted like that old man Teuchi's ramen. But the dango was quite good. When I went to the training grounds, I had to say it was _epic. _There were two swordsmen fighting, and to say they were Yondaime fast would have been an understatement. All you could see were sparks and several jutsu flying around. When it ended, I had to say I was impressed. It was Haru and some other chick with silver hair fighting. Okay seriously, Kakashi must have made wigs for people. There were so many silver haired citizens in Mist. Maybe the Hatake clan had originated from around here, and Kakashi's clan were just a small faction. Haru was panting...poor stamina but excellent speed. The woman noticed me...

"You the new sealer? You don't look like much..." she stated, hands on her hips.

"You'll be surprised what I can do...so you guys use swords primarily in a fight, and less jutsu?"

Haru nodded. "That is how the Mist has worked for years. People use swords more than kunai, because it gives us an advantage of reach and defence." The sword he'd been using disappeared in a strange flash of light...

"So are there any 'main' clans in this village?" I asked.

Haru nodded. "The Yamakirite, the Futouyaiba- my clan- and the Munashii, Kagami-san's clan."

He gestured to the silver haired lady as he winded up. "Hmm...so you done with the ground? I wanted to use it. I could always come back later..."

"You can go ahead." Haru said, "I was going to take a mission after this anyhow." He left with a rather thoughtful Kagami. Haru may seem like a simple looking guy with simple hair and a simple mind, but that flash had had me thinking...just how many different abilities were there in Kirigakure? I trained for a while in taijutsu, fighting my clones in a minor tournament of punches, kicks, insults and throws. I slapped the last clone which felt the need to look stupid before vanishing. Ouch.

So now I had three clans to look up. Maybe I'd been looking too deep after all...I'd completely overlooked visiting the history sections. I made a quick trip to the Library, which I'd soon grow to love as much as ramen. And there it was- _The World's History of Clans, Revised Edition. _I looked at the date of publishing- twelve years ago, excellent! I created clones and had them look for more books on the same subject as I sat and read the large tome. They were in alphabetical order, so the first I encountered was Aburame. The information was very accurate.

_Aburame_

_Location: Land of Fire_

_Affiliation: Konohagakure no Sato_

_The Aburame are known for their abilities in communicating with insects and using them as allies and for various techniques. Using a method known as the Destruction Bug Host technique, the __details of which are unknown, the insects- Kikaichu- are placed within a newborn of the clan, familiarising with the body to a relatively major extent. Were one of the first clans to be called to Konohagakure by Hashirama Senju, whom they would later serve as their founding Hokage._

_Estimated Number: 175+_

To save a little time, I looked through the list of unaffiliated clans. Those I pored over, and eventually I found one of the clans I would most definitely love to have.

_Kuroshimo_

_Location: Land of Ravines_

_Affiliation: None_

_Known for their techniques involving an advanced form of earth and wind manipulation, The Kuroshimo are able to utilize any solid and convert it to their black sand, which contains some properties of iron, diamond and carbon. This material can be moulded into any shape and utilised for different purposes. Depending on the level of skill, this makes them a formidable opponent on any terrain, as even at sea they can draw on sand from the deep within the water itself._

_Estimated Number: -100_

They must be very secretive then. They could already have been wiped out. But I'd check nonetheless. The others that interested me were the Koutai.

_Koutai_

_Location: Land of Hail_

_Affiliation: None_

_They possess a wide range of sword masters and use their bloodline, the Hekigan, to the greatest possible effect. By utilizing the Hekigan's ability to determine all intention without the need of the image slowing down, they are able to counter all attacks. Coupled with their immense skill in Fūton ninjutsu, they are extremely difficult to defeat in combat._

_Estimated Number: 125+_

So they had a healthy number of members. That was one dōjutsu, one set of elemental users. What I really lacked were a clan that could use genjutsu. I looked it up and came to something quite shocking.

_Senkkaku_

_Location: Unknown, Lightning Country pre First World War_

_Affiliation: None_

_A clan extremely skilled in casting illusions without much need for creativity, the Senkkaku once __dominated Lightning Country, but scattered during the First Great Shinobi_ _War. Most of their __members sailed east after the war ended, but a few remained scattered. Very few members are alive today, and those few are able to come up with various illusions and uses for them. Despite being genjutsu users, they can, at times, have large chakra capacities._

_Estimated Number: -75_

So this was Shinkirou's clan. It wasn't that hard to guess, really- _are able to cast illusions without much need for creativity. _That sounded _very_ Shinkirou. She must have been the only one left in Kumogakure- that would account for her rather unique qualities compared to other Kumo-nin. The day was already spent, so I headed back home with whatever my clones could gather and ate at a ramen stand before arriving at my apartment and falling dead asleep.

* * *

"All things considered, Uzumaki, I believe you are just suitable for an A-Rank." Mei Terumī pulled a scroll from the sorted pyramid like piles in front of her and handed it to me. I opened it..."Will do..."

_Details: Locate and destroy the body of A-Rank missing-nin Temame Sasaki. Nukenin Profile enclosed._

_Pay: 700, 000_ _ryō_.

_Duration: One Week_

"I'll leave immediately." I got up and stowed the scroll away in a hidden pocket. "I'll be back in five days."

Mei huffed. "You're rather cocky, Uzumaki."

"That's how I roll, so to speak..."

I left the office and made for the gates. It was not to early, eight in the morning, but there were still quite a number of people abroad. The jounin guards were at the gates as usual. I showed them my mission scroll and they allowed me to pass. And then there was the woe of finding a way to track down the dead bastard. His profile said he was a Suiton user, an excellent swordsman and possessed some unknown strange abilities- probably a bloodline. He had last been seen near Waterfall. Piece o' cake...

* * *

Gamaryoushi tasted the air with his tongue. "This way."

I followed him as he leapt from branch to branch. We were already on the other side of the sea that separated the Water Country from the rest of the world. The place was full of slimy trees and rocks; it was hard to keep from slipping off the branches. It had been two days since I'd left Kirigakure. Gamaryoushi, a tracker toad, had been following the trail of the first scent he identified via some skills of his- probably a tracking jutsu.

We kept on the trail for a few more hours until we decided to rest up. For a corpse, it sure was located in a strange area- the bottom of a ravine. It wasn't like ninja never committed suicide- the White Fang was a clear example- but it was uncommon to throw yourself into a ravine. Especially when there were other ways to kill yourself around the Fire Country. I hated being back here. It was a stupid risk- I didn't even know where the boarder was weak. I sneaked in through a Myōbokuzan style jutsu- Hiding in a Toad.

If Temame Sasaki was a ninja at all, he'd have been killed, not committed suicide. And how had the Mizukage known he was dead? It could all be some plot to have me assassinated. Nah, I was being paranoid. Gamaryoushi hopped off once I was done with my lunch. We went down the ravine, taking our time and inspecting the area for any signs of recent conflict. There were none. It took half an hour to reach the bottom. There, crushed, twisted and deformed, lay the body of Temame Sasaki.

Gamaryoushi looked the dead missing-nin over. "That's strange..."

I raised an eyebrow. "What is?"

"I can taste no blood anywhere near him, or in the ground below. That means..."

The air whistled loudly, getting louder. "Crap!"

I spun around and blocked a shuriken that was meant to pierce by spine at the trapezius. This guy had aim that was almost as perfect as Haku's. He was a simple man- dark hair, usual antagonistic cloak. It was the eyes. They were empty, like the flesh was dead. Pure, white, rotten irises with no pupil. He grinned like a maniac.

"Well, they sent the Fourth's brat after me? They must be desperate!" He cackled.

"Just what are you? How are you alive?" I demanded, slipping into the Kawazu Kumite stance.

"Why should I tell you that? So the Mist will try to enslave me again? Never."

He drew a sword from somewhere and flew at me, kicking at my jaw. I barely reacted in time, blocking his kick with some effort and flaring my hand with chakra, aiming to crush the tenkutsu near his navel, effectively crippling him. He brought up one of his arms, catching mine in the same hold the Yondaime had caught me in once. _No way..._

I countered accordingly, spinning in the direction he tried to twist my arm and aiming a Joukaiken at his heart. My eyes widened as he countered it with his bare hands and tried to impale me with his sword using his free hand. I jumped back and activated my Jikokugan. He wouldn't have noticed, since I had a simple but powerful genjutsu lain on my eyes that made the activation invisible.

I couldn't fight in this narrow space. None of my techniques were meant for narrow areas like this one. I'd have to force him up somehow. A plan formed in my mind's eye as he spoke once more.

"Not bad, brat. You fight like a Namikaze."

That pierced my wall of calm like a bullet. "What do you know about the Namikaze?"

"They were a bunch of talented fools, that's what."

He moved to attack me, but before he could I slammed my hands to the ground. "Doton: Yomi Numa!"

A lake of mud suddenly appeared beneath Temame Sasaki, forcing him to jump up and cling to the walls of the narrow ravine as I created a clone to cover my blind side and fired an Endan at him. Using the perception of my eye, I used a burst of speed to appear behind the nukenin, who failed to react in time as I pierced his side with a Joukaiken. He grunted and jumped up, avoiding both me and the clone on the other side. I pursued him as he bounced of the walls on either side, making his way up. I followed with just as good speed, the clone hot on his trail as well.

I threw shuriken and kunai which he countered with his sworrd. The clone managed to land a hit with a kunai in his leg. He moved to pull it out. Using the distraction, I punched him in the gut, launching him up and finally out of the ravine. The clone, who'd jumped out ahead of me, swore as he was pierced with a kunai and disappeared. It hadn't come from Temame. I turned my head sharply, ignoring the popping of my neck. _No way..._

There, locked in the heat of battle, were Inuzuka Kiba with a _huge _Akamaru, Hinata- who was surprisingly dealing the most blows- and the Legendary Copy-nin himself. I almost moved to help them when Kakashi was pinned by a genjutsu, bleeding above his hip, and nearly got impaled by the sword of a Kumo-nin. Kumo...

This was an act of war...which meant I could intervene. Thinking quickly, I used an earth jutsu to create a mask which stuck to my face with chakra. I drew up the hood of my cloack and then I rushed in, leaving three clones to guide Temame away from the confusion of the Kumo-Konoha clash.

* * *

Kakashi grimaced as the wound in his side began to slow him down. He had to say Hiashi had taught his daughter very well...or she'd trained herself well. She was striking unexpectedly, spinning around the nin and constantly changing targets between the three she had engaged. Kiba and Akamaru were keeping the other two on their toes, and Kakashi had his own pair to deal with. If they survived- when they survived- he would have to get back to using swords again. It would have helped if he didn't have to dodge jabs and cuts at him while firing a jutsu.

He broke out of the illusion he was in but pretended to still be in it, switching with a log just as the Kumo-nin swung at his head. After that, it was a simple matter of impaling him with a Chidori. His Sharingan confirmed that he was dead, as it had not detected any movement from the nin as he was struck. A clang of metal upon metal sounded behind him. He swivelled around and there, fighting the other Kumo-nin he was meant to be dealing with, was some guy in a Yondaime like coat with a hood and a plain mask of what looked like ordinary rock.

Kakashi observed, taking the time to staunch the bleeding in his side with some basic medical jutsu he'd learnt way back when from Rin. The mysterious nin certainly fought in a style he didn't know. It involved a lot of chakra induced punches and kunai moves. And he noticed the man used some sort of wind based hand technique similar to a Chidori. It wasn't that suspicious, but some one able to develop such a technique would have to have had some knowledge of how his own jutsu worked.

Noticing an opening in the Kumo-nin's guard, Kakashi rushed in and impaled him with his prized technique. He was about to open his mouth to ask the stranger his name, but did not get the opportunity. As he returned to Konoha, Kakashi often wondered who the ninja had been. He is still wondering.

* * *

I rushed back towards Temame, and was relieved to find my clones doing a good job of keeping him busy. This would be simple. I sneaked up behind him while the clones surrounded him. A Gokakyu was all it took for him to become ashes. I sealed them into a scroll and sighed. The job was done.

* * *

Review!


	7. The Necromacer

** The Apprentice of Time**

Naruto is as Kishi does...

* * *

** The Necromancer**

The day of travelling across the sea was one of boredom. The moment I was free I stretched and thanked the toad who carried me across the sea. The sun was still high up in the sky and I was hungry, so I stopped at the nearest village and ate a big lunch. I washed down the sushi with some excellent iced green tea.

There was a persistent muttering at the bar, and I was quite hungry for information so I listened in. "Did you hear about Orochimaru? The Sound are planning to join Kumo in the upcoming war. Don't see why the Mizukage wants to join in..."

"Silence yourself, Satoshi! There are too many eyes and ears in this place."

I swear someone glared at me at this point. The rest of the trip back was uneventful, but I noticed a lot of the merchants looked very fearful, eyeing anyone who stood out or looked suspicious. The gates of the Mist soon loomed in the distance and I quickened my pace.

At last I reached the gates and the guards checked my scroll as I walked through. The mist was as thick as ever as I went through the streets and up to my apartment. I ate some lunch, read until sunset and slept for the rest of the day.

* * *

I fell ungraciously to the ground- exhausted and mentally spent. The sun was beginning to rise- around the time I usually went out to train. I was back in Mist from another mission and just about fed up. For weeks, the Mizukage had been giving me the same sort of missions- those involving missing-nin. I had to destroy bodies, locate criminals, destroy old camps. And I still didn't have enough money, Really, I ought to go up to that office and demand a good old fashioned S-Rank, the stuff that really rolled in the cash...

I got up and put my coat back on. In the Mist, there was virtually no season. It was the same all the time. Same people, same thick fog, same reclusive Mizukage- it was a strange thing. You see, ever since I'd gone to her office to ask for a mission, she'd just have the scrolls left at my apartment. When I went to see her, they said she was too busy or simply not visitor tolerant at at the moment.

And that made me want to leave. I almost had enough cash to at least start a small settlement...Just one S-Rank- the toughest- and I'd be set to travel in leisure for months and still have enough to build my tower...That settled it. I set off for the Mizukage Tower, idly checking out the windows of any shop that was interesting. The streets flowed with buzzing civilians and silent ninja. Several merchants were attempting to sell off weapons to the passing shinobi. Obviously an attempt to profit from the impending threat of war.

It wasn't just Kumo and Konoha, several of the Mist's politicians and ninja were vying for participation in the war, saying that it would gain them an invaluable ally regardless of which side they fought for. It was, naturally, hard for the Mizukage to disagree. Thus, they would be going with Kumo.

I would have helped Konoha out, but they really wouldn't be able to appreciate it. Maybe it was time I paid Danzo and his old buddies a visit. It was clearly obvious that that old hog was up to no good- there was just no way to prove it without looking prejudiced. And then there was Orochimaru. Really, Konoha had far too many threats they'd failed to rid themselves of.

The Mizukage Tower was open as usual- just a little quiet. At the doors to the Mizukage's office were barred by the Mist's version of ANBU. They were stock still as I approached.

"I'd like to see the Mizukage."

The ANBU shifted nervously. Strange. "She is busy."

I frowned. This was very fishy. "Busy behind closed doors? I think that's a little...odd, don't you?"

The ANBU remained silent, trying not to betray his obvious fear. I silently activated my Jikokugan. His chakra was slouching about in a nervous pattern. He knew something. I swiftly palmed one of them in the stomach and side fisted the other in the head. I lay them gently on the ground and reached for the door handle. The moment I touched it, a pattern glowed in the wood. A seal.

Focusing my chakra, I touched the appropriate parts with the right fingers and stabbed with my chakra. The seal dissolved and the door creaked open. There was no one. Except the Mizukage. And she was slumped in her chair unconscious. My eyes scanned the room. There was a foul chakra hanging over the dim, barely noticeable light that was the Mizukage's.

I turned around and snatched a hand out of the air. "So you have returned..."

The figure that tried to punch me dissolved into water and reappeared in front of the Mizukage. This was Temame Sasaki. In the red and black of the Akatsuki. "Prepare to die, Uzumaki."

A blade flashed. I couldn't react in time. Someone rushed in front of me. Sparks flew. The man in front of me grunted, obviously struggling against the strength of Sasaki. "Getting stiff, Uzumaki?"

"H-Haru? How-"

He swiftly interrupted me. "Now is not the time- fight!"

Haru engaged Temame in a dance of metal and water. Both dissolving into liquid just when it seemed they were defeated and resurfacing. I quickly laid a seal around the Mizukage. It would keep her safe and slowly wake her up. I turned back and joined the fight. Sasaki spat a glob of something at me, which I dodged, and I threw a Fireball back in retaliation. He had to pause to kick Haru away from him and duck at the same time. I attacked him with kunai, punches and kicks. He dodged everything.

I panted and growled in frustration. My coat flapped in an annoying symphony as the wind blew in through the open window. I took off my coat and flared my hand with potent wind. Punching Sasaki, I started up a conversation as he fought off both me and Haru.

"How are you alive? I burnt you to cinders!"

Sasaki grinned, slashing at Haru and spitting another globe of liquid at me. I dodged as he spoke gruffly. "You were fooled, Uzumaki. What say we take this outside?" He ducked another swing from Haru and jumped out of the room. I swiftly told Haru to stay behind and wait for the Mizukage to awaken while I dealt with Sasaki. He nodded and I disappeared outside, sealing away my coat as I left.

Sasaki was waiting on top of an apartment building, lazily stabbing at the concrete. I noticed how the sword looked brand new. The one he'd used in the ravine was old but still in good condition.

"Duel to the death, Uzumaki?" the deranged nukenin grinned and readied his blade. I made two clones. This had defeated him last time. "You bet."

I rushed in and engaged in taijutsu, punching him in his gut and attempting to follow up with a devastating kick to the head. Just as my foot planted itself in the side of Sasaki's head, he disappeared. I looked around, up...below! "Doton: Yomi Numa!"

The ground turned to mud and Sasaki burst out before the bubbling substance could crush him. One of my clones used a Karyuu Endan, which he countered with a Water Wall. I moved in behind him with my clone and prepared a Rasengan. "Fũton: Oodama Rasengan!"

This time Sasaki couldn't dodge. As the Rasengan hit his back, the nukenin's flesh seemed to harden and then it became ashes, as had the rest of his body. My eyes copied the technique entailed and as Sasaki tried to chop off my head, I tried to pull it back on him. Nothing happened, until I suddenly felt fatigued. I panicked and switched with a roof tile, my heart racing.

"Is this...a bloodline?" I asked between panicked breaths. The thing had tried to steal away a large amount of my chakra. I'd just managed to stop myself from finishing the technique.

Sasaki grinned. "Surprised, Uzumaki? That is the exact same jutsu I used to bluff you. What you got was ashes, because the body was made of ashes! I am the last Necromancer, and I shall end the life of the last Namikaze, my sworn enemy! Your foolish village destroyed my last few relatives, and I was left alone. That Minato Namikaze made me look _weak_!"

He began racing through seals and his grey coloured chakra- the colour of ash, how had I not noticed?- fluctuated. This would be a mass destruction jutsu, probable suicidal. So I'd counter in kind.

I unsealed the scroll I'd been working on with Fukusaku. The weapons jutsu. If I combined wind with lightning...I controlled the air currents so that as I unrolled the scroll, it formed a sphere around Sasaki, then I released the end and made a seal as he finished his.

"Forbidden Sasaki Style: Soul Burial!"

"Ultimate Myōbokuzan Weapon Jutsu: Blade Storm!"

Sasaki seemed to explode and implode at the same time. The dead, foul chakra that would have devoured my soul the instant it touched me was held back by the scroll, which released over ten thousand kunai, shuriken, senbon and various other blades of all shapes and sizes along with several bolts of lightning and gusts of tearing wind. Then I waited, using my arm to keep the leaves and shredded paper out of my eyes.

As the storm of lightning and wind settled, the city was tense, as if waiting for the outcome of the battle. Normally, they'd loose their nerve and run, but they'd probably seen war before. The last of the dust settled, and there in the centre lay Sasaki. But he did not move. His eyes were wide open, he had become very, very pale and his eyes looked even more dead. But the body was alive. That was what it was like to live without a soul. I picked up a senbon and stabbed it into Sasaki's neck. The body bled to death and I sighed. Over at last.

Just as I relaxed and was about to deactivate my bloodline, a gust of foul chakra disturbed the air behind me and I just managed to turn before a white hot blade sank into my left shoulder. Agonising pain, like lava running through my veins, spread through my body. I coughed up blood and my vision swam dangerously.

I could just see Sasaki's pale face and dead eyes before me.

"Thought you had me fooled, Namikaze! I'm no pushover! Any last words?"

I slowly lifted my right hand and gripped the blade, ignoring the bleeding that occurred from the action.

"You...you bastard!"

I wrenched the blade from my flesh and Sasaki could do nothing as I slowed down time. "This is the end, Sasaki."

Wisps of wind chakra gathered in my hands, solidifying and flailing at the same time. I concentrated the chakra, compacting the wind and pumping in more energy. A circle of bright blueish white formed around me. "Sennen Gufuuyari."

I plunged the spear of wind into him and felt the flesh die, This time I could tell he was really dead. The wound in my shoulder brought so much pain I was forced to bring back time. One last precaution. I summoned the last few dregs of my chakra and laid down a seal around the body. I staggered away as the circular array of symbols exploded upwards in a bright blue flash of light.

Haru appeared beside me and watched the light as it slowly began to fade. "The Mizukage wants to see you, Uzumaki."

I did not speak until the light fully disappeared. Etched into the concrete were the markings of a seal. It would serve as a reminder to the Mizukage. "Sure..."

I got up and dusted off my clothing. The wound in my shoulder was slowly closing. The blade must have been poisoned. The Mizukage was still slumped in her chair, but was conscious. She sat up straight with some difficulty. Chakra depletion would normally leave you unconscious for at least three days, but she fought to keep her eyes open. "Thank you, Naruto. If," she yawned hugely, "If it were not for you I would not be alive. I was totally unprepared..."

"Its not a problem. But I really should get going. Akatsuki know my whereabouts, and I cannot endanger this village any longer. Thanks for the pay."

I bowed and left, using Shunshin to travel quickly to my apartment. Swiftly packing up my stuff and sealing it into my scroll, I left the keys on the sofa and Shunshined just outside the gates of the village. I heard a shout behind me but I didn't hesitate. I summoned as much chakra as I could in my state- my energy recovered itself very quickly- and focused on one direction- east. There was a sweep of leaves and I knew no more.

* * *

Okay this is short but it felt like a fitting place to end. Also, I have tennis elbow at the moment, so I can't type that much with just my left hand.


	8. Doors Reopened

Oi, ye hooligans! To whom is the yellow one?

* * *

**The Apprentice of Time**

Cold. It was so cold...I couldn't feel anything, no part of my body- just the cold. Hour, days, years- I don't know how long- I felt an icy chill. Then something, hot as lava, ran through me, coursing through my veins, filling my mind.

I gasped awake. Someone shook me and I felt something whistle in the air. There was a scream. My eyes rebelled against me, refusing to open, and my limbs failed me me. I felt someone carry me away with some difficulty, and all the while the whistling sounds grew into the clangs of beating metal. Something hit me in the head and stars burst. Then nothing.

"Superhuman, this kid. We found him lying on top of the lake- and its frozen mind you! He should be dead."

The voices were close, just next to me. "You shouldn't have brought him here." Another voice said. This one was cold, metallic and feminine. "Look- he doesn't have a headband or anything that identifies him except this coat, and no one know anything about any 'Time Sage'. He could be an escaped criminal for all we know."

I chose this moment to try opening my eyes. The lights were startlingly bright and I quickly closed my eyes again, realising I had my Jikokugan on, though I didn't remember activating them. I tried again, slowly this time. There was an old man on my left and a young woman- probably in her late teens like myself- on my right.

I tried to sit up and instantly laid down again. My stomach had almost cramped. I groaned and tried not stretch lest my back cramp as well. I tried to speak, but the words came like rust and my throat was awfully dry. I ignored the painful itch. "Wh-where...am I?"

The old man signalled for the girl to leave. She grudgingly got up and, taking on last look at me, left. At that moment I realised something was very, very off. The old man took out a pipe and lit it up in just the way jiji used to do it before making himself comfortable and puffing merrily on the tobacco.

"You nearly died out there kid. Darn lucky my grandkids was out on one of their 'walks'. And you're lucky my granddaughter is very skilled, because the moment she touched you, goons in red and black tried to kill you both. So she revived you on the spot using a special liquid, distracted the enemy and escaped here. She was quite concerned- that is until she saw that headband. This is the House of Senkakku. And I am the Lord of this House, Musashi."

Then it struck me. That girl's hair had been a dark shade of purple. The same colour as Shinkirou's. But the way she'd introduced herself the first time I'd met her either meant she didn't know of her heritage or kept it a secret. I looked out the window at saw it was snowing outside. "I mean...are we like, in Snow Country?"

Musashi scoffed. "Hardly, son. You're a hundred and fifty-eight miles off the east cost of the mainland. And I see you are from the Village Hidden Within the Trees. I knew your Hokage...what number are you at now?"

I shrugged. "No idea. Five, the last time I was there. One to four are all dead." _Well, not really._

Musashi looked grim. "That Hashirama...far too brave for his own good. What happened to him?"

I gasped. "You knew the Shodai Hokage? You must be like...almost a hundred by now." I said, grimacing slightly as my lungs ached. "I don't really know how he died, but it was sometime after he fought Uchiha Madara, during the First War. The same time your people scattered. Is this place a secret?"

Musashi sighed and puffed on his pipe. I watched the smoke curl up and form an odd shape in the air. It was a crude image of a sakura tree. "It all started with Hashirama himself. I told him, oh a long time ago, not to hand the bijuu to the other nations. He was determined. I was an envoy of the Raikage back then. At the point when the war was about to ensue, I tried to reason with my clan members. Few listened, and of those some doubted. The thirty of us journeyed east of Lightning Country, away from the strongholds near Kumogakure.

"It was but a few decades later, when my grandson came back from his travels on the mainland. He said the world was in war. The Third. It was a sorry sight, he said. And now I hear from him that the Fourth is on its way.

"What do you know of our clan, Namikaze?"

I frowned. "I met a girl I did not know was a Senkkaku, I discovered her secret by myself. I've wanted to meet some of your clan members, in the hopes that you would join me in my village."

Musashi blew another cloud that turned into a question and exclamation mark. "You seriously expect me to go back to the mainland?"

"Hardly," I said, "This place is the perfect location for a hidden village."

"Heh...so who was the Senkkaku you met, boy? And I still want know what has become of the Namikaze."

"Shinkirou. She said her name was Aka Shinkirou. And she believes herself the best genjutsu user in the world. That was about three years ago. The Namikaze...I don't know. Gone, I guess. But I know there must have been an Uzumaki who survived."

The old man continued to stare into the smoky air ahead of him. He finally turned his eye back on me. "You have very great ambitions, boy. I could have become the First Raikage myself. But you know why I didn't chose to? The safety of my family. What would happen to my dear kith and kin if I failed to keep them away from the tempting power of the bijuu? And now you want my people to be lead again...I must test you before I may even bother contemplating this." He studied me again, looking at the areas around my eyes. "Is there anything you are hiding? I see silver. And silver is never a good sign. What past have you had, Time Sage?"

I opened my mouth to reply, startled and breathless at the old man's discovery, when the door slid open. This time a young man came in with the woman. Before I could even blink, a sword was at my throat. It was the woman. "Start talking."

I laughed, though it held no humour. It was nervous, if anything. "A kunoichi without honour? You'd kill me in this weakened state? I'll answer to you when I'm a good distance away from that blade...its cursed."

Her breath caught as I mentioned the cursed blade. I knew that blade very well. It had many names, its fame known worldwide. Orochimaru would kill for that sword. The Old Man would probably put all his effort to destroy it. "Juuchi Yosamu. How much of you has it taken apart?"

Musashi gave the girl a stern look and she sheathed the blade. "Leave and think upon your actions. I need not say more."

The woman glared at me before storming out, slamming the door behind her. The day was going to be long. The man, who wore spectacles and carried about him an air of curiosity, stared intently at me as I swallowed again to keep my throat from going too dry. Musashi looked as if nothing had happened. "This is my grandson Iori. He was with her- when they found you."

"I cannot say it is much of a pleasure meeting you, Leaf-nin. But you really seem kind of...strange."

Musashi continued to puff in silence for a few moments more before speaking. "I want you to give the boy our knowledge of the sword."

Iori gasped. What was so bad about teaching me to wield a sword? "But-"

"No. He will make it, I'm sure. For now, get us a good healer-"

I shook my head. "No need for that. I have regeneration- its quite rapid too. I just need food. Ramen, if you have any."

Musashi looked at his grandson expectantly. Iori sighed and left the room, leaving me with Musashi again. "Yume has become very rash. It's time she passed on that blade."

"Does she have anything to do with Shinkirou, by the way?" I asked. I knew the answer before the old man said it.

"Her twin, and my granddaughter. And she must touch the handle of the Tender Hands before the world falls into imbalance. Or we could give it to you temporarily."

"So that's your plan? Ingenious."

"The sword needs a pure heart. You will be the bearer until you are able to pass on the blade. But first you must master the sword."

We remained silent until a servant returned to the room with a huge bowl of ramen. I raised an eyebrow, a little surprised. Musashi grinned as if remembering a good joke. "Standard Namikaze size."

I sweat-dropped. What was my clan, the Akamichi brothers? I gratefully ate my ramen, relishing in the warmth it gave me. I could feel the energy going to my muscles, replenishing their strength. By the time I was done with the bowl, I felt I could run a hundred miles. I flexed my arm and a slight ache came from my shoulder. I'd completely forgotten that Sasaki had stabbed me.

I got out of the blankets and noticed that I was still in my bloodied shinobi shōzoku. Musashi gestured silently to a neatly folded garment in white similar to mine. I changed in the bathroom connecting to the one I was in, presumably an empty bedroom used for healing and recovery.

Changed and showered, I looked out the window. The sun was setting. Musashi watched the sun sink lower and lower, puffing on his pipe all the while. As the last streaks of light slowly began to disappear, Musashi smiled and spoke. "Well, let's see what we can do for your plans, young Namikaze. Follow me."

He stood up and went through the door and out into the open. So the room was a separate building. We walked across the semi-dark courtyard and entered a building- this one looked like a full fledged clan building. It was a large palace made of the traditional lacquered wood. The doors were open, allowing the soft glow of firelight to scatter across the last few metres of the courtyard.

Musashi took me though a lot of rooms- bedrooms, gigantic dojos, libraries- it was after about ten minutes of this this (at which point I was just about done seeing several ordinary looking libraries that looked almost exactly identical in an annoying way) that the walls of the corridors changed abruptly. They became of hard stone, like the walls of castles. This place was also torchlit, but the flames were an eerie silver.

We came to a stop in front of a large door adorned with thousands of symbols spiraling around one I easily recognised- the Rikudou Sennin's six tomoe. "This room can only be entered by one possessing blood belonging to one of these clans- basically, anyone can enter it. The thing is, this door kills the wicked, brings the innocent to their frightened senses. Only the truly evil, or truly pure- preferably-will be able to pass through this door and live." He paused. "This is the Sage's Door."

* * *

It was always the same. He woke up at five in the morning. Ate and showered. Put on his usual garb of ANBU-like black and red plate armour. Then he went to the same bridge, worried about getting the same sort of techniques right, getting nudged on by the same old teacher and admired- though punched in the f***ing shoulder every few times- by the same pink haired girl.

War had been the perfect distraction. Until he was told the priority was defence. That sucked. Standing in front of the walls with no room to use the best techniques. Kakashi agreed, but thought that maybe they'd better sit and wait for the report on the Lightning army's size before considering their now narrowed down choices.

With the above not complying, this was a semi ordinary day. He was sitting under his favourite tree with Sakura ("We are NOT dating!") playing a game of shogi with Shikamaru watching them and- at times- possessing them to correct a particularly hapless move.

"Sasuke you idiot." Shikamaru snapped the rook back into place. "You're always exposing your back. That's why you never win." And it was true. Sakura always won. Hell, years and years later, Sasuke couldn't even beat his own three year old daughter in shogi. But that's far off.

There was a violent pulse of wind and leaves and Kakashi appeared. He was about to say something when he went off muttering about a missing book. It was a sad truth that Kakashi seemed to begin forgetting where he put what he needed- even his IchaIcha. He finally found it and, beginning his sequence of arrival anew, began to speak.

"Shikamaru- we need you come up with a new encryption code to go over our new electronic database. You might need a little gizmo lesson first though." The lazy Shikamaru nodded and sank into a shadow, disappearing into blackness. "The two of you. I have good news. He was spotted."

Sakura was the first to jump up and start squawking questions at Kakashi. "What? Where? Is he alive?"

"Calm down, Sakura. It was as he was travelling across the seas- towards Mist, apparently. Also, his chakra signature passed through the wall readings of Fire, Rain, Grass and the farthest coast with all the countries in between. The strange thing is that it passed in less than a second. We got seventeen calls at once demanding what one of our potentially most dangerous 'missing nin' was doing out there. There's another rumour too..."

Sasuke seemed to perk up at this point, clearly paying rapt attention to what Kakashi was about to say. "He has the approval of the Mizukage and her people- he is welcome to enter Mist whenever he wishes. And...he killed one of the most elusive missing nin for twenty years- a nin I once met known as Sasaki Temame."

Sasuke's breath caught and Sakura simply looked confused. But Kakashi went on. "An ANBU reported what he saw at the scene of the fight." At this point Kakashi reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. Handing it to Sasuke, he awaited the words of his students. He knew the Uchiha would use his Sharingan while looking at it.

"A seal..." Sakura muttered. She brushed a section of the photograph. A section Sasuke was staring at with abject horror in his eyes.

"That's..."

Kakashi nodded. "That is Temame. Trapped in..."

"A loop seal." Sasuke finished the statement in the tone of someone passing reluctant judgement. This was an S-Class forbidden sealing. It drew on the potency of chakra rather than your capacity. And if you were of weak will, it sealed you away instead. In an endless torture. "A Death Loop seal."

* * *

Two and a half years of training in Myōbokuzan taught you a lot. Especially about strange doors and the like. This one I knew very well. The Sage's Door. It connected to a thousand others like it in several parts of the universe- it was one of the reasons you needed the training and willpower of a Sage to get through them. If the door could pull you to a thousand places, it wouldn't hesitate to do so. You needed to know where you were going- to focus on it- in order to reach the next door. What I wanted to know was the destination. I told Musashi as much.

"As you know," he said, fingering one of the artistically carved symbols on the door, "These doors transcend time. You could go through this door and walk out five minutes ago, if you get my drift. What you must do...to save the world from this great evil to come, you must see- experience it- for yourself." He paused. "When you walk through this door, whether you will it or not, you will be pulled by the power of your eyes to the moment in time that this evil- a greater evil, even, than Uchiha Madara himself- was born. You must ready yourself. Carry with you something strongly bound to this time-line. I found that the best way to do that is to take something that did not exist at the time you are going towards. To bring you back."

I nodded. Fairly easy. I asked him if he had anything I could shape or form. Musashi reached into his robes and pulled out a bag of powdered clay. I smiled. This was one resourceful old man. I untied the knot and pulled a fistful of the clay out and dripped some moist water chakra into it. It became soft and pliable. Deciding to go with whatever came into my mind, I fashioned a crude object out of the clay. I didn't realize what it was I was looking at, at first, but then I figured it out.

It was like a ball of clay with several kanji and strange marks that didn't know I knew burned into it. Musashi nodded approvingly. "You might want to shrink it and attach it to a chain or something like that- make it easier to carry around."

Using a simple jutsu I shrunk the ball to the size of a walnut and attached it to a multi-linked chain. Done. Musashi told me that my chakra would need a cool off for a few minutes to stabilize, so I submerged myself in thought while I waited. I wondered if Shinkirou was still in Wave. That wasn't very likely, but once this was all over and I set off to find her and hand over her sword, she'd have a mountain of insults, good and bad news and, of course, a nice amount of bragging to cast off on me.

Musashi counted the last second and, through some mutual agreement that passes without a word, the old man went through several hand seals and pulled the door open as fast as he could. I was surprised by how it appeared. It was like walking into a wall of water and light fluctuating in several hues of the rainbow.

I stepped over the threshold and a wave of tingling pain, confusion and brightness washed over me. The light rose to a blinding flare before everything suddenly went dark and damp. I realized there was no air and I felt my consciousness slipping away...

* * *

The weather was wet today. She hated wet weather. As the torrent of liquid eased slightly, she checked that she had everything she needed before she pulled up her hood and, looking upon the three who had been her family for over two years.

She smiled, saying one last final goodbye, and closed the door behind her. The cold wind bit at her skin and blew her dark hair into her face. She was not feeling very optimistic as yet another flash of lightning illuminated her surroundings. To home. Her true home.

* * *

Shinkirou's back! (For those who may have been wondering if she was just a cameo role). Sorry for not updating in such a long while, but I've been preoccupied with school and figuring out Blender. Speaking of which, if anyone reading this story has enough skill (I certainly don't), I'd like to see a few renders of Naruto and his Jikokugan. And hopefully you can give me a few character modeling lessons.


	9. The Moments In Time

**The Apprentice of Time**

**The Moments In Time**

The first thing I noticed were the lights. They illuminated the area for miles, basking the packed earth and old trees in various colours. Dragons of fire and ice flew in the sky, causing surges of vast power to wash over the plain.

You could barely see the two ninja who were fighting. Sparks of such fierce and fast strikes and stabs from blades and kunai were everywhere. It brought such a primal fear, like I felt I could run across the universe fleeing from the encounter. I resisted the urge with some effort and watched. Musashi said I had to watch this.

As they paused, I noticed one of the nin was dressed in the robes of a samurai, swinging a nodachi with fierce speed and strength. The other used his sound taijutsu to dodge the blade and for the first time I understood why I was scared. Or something like it.

This guy looked almost exactly like me. He had the same sort of frame, but darker hair and his eyes...were bright silver, just like mine in the Jikokugan state. He wasn't attempting to stop time. Most probably because the samurai he was fighting didn't give him a second to even initiate the technique. There were several reasons why I thought this battle wasn't going to go anywhere for several hours- and they looked like they'd been fighting for days.

The samurai's brow was caked in blood and his palms were sweaty and grimy. The Jikokugan user was looking ragged himself. He must have been a good sealer because I noticed he never ran out of shuriken and would, from time to time, procure a fancy looking weapon or use an interesting hand jutsu. He didn't wear much armour for the ninja of back then. He just had armour protecting one of his arms and a shoulder. The rest of him was in black cloth torn in places.

The battle raged on, neither gaining the advantage until the ninja gained the upper hand, stabbing the samurai in the shoulder as he attempted to dodge the strike of pure energy. It was a strange purplish colour and felt almost like electricity. The samurai switched his sword to his other hand, obviously not willing to lose. The ninja read this. He flamed his other hand in energy, this one a bright white, also akin to electricity. _Negative and positive, _I realised. Yin and yang. This guy was truly exceptional.

The shinobi knew he'd won. "Give up, samurai. Your people have lost!" His voice was surprisingly full of hatred and malice. The samurai, unwilling to yield, struggled to lift his sword. He may have been a swordsman, but he knew how to use chakra well if he could create an ice dragon.

"Life is only one battle, Sage. Those who follow you will know you have betrayed your purpose. You have chosen to destroy this world."

The ninja grinned maniacally. I watched on in disgust as he kicked into a passionate speech. "Your people have cursed this world! And to purify it, I'll kill every last one of you filthy samurai, who dare to say that you have honour. Ha! One of your pathetic kind slew my entire village, my whole family, for the sake of one missing piece of weaponry! A useless blade!

"This," he caressed his eye, as if he were handling a precious jewel, "this gift was given to me to destroy you, to bring vengeance upon the vengeful, to pacify the lot of you! I'll not rest until all of you are lying in a pile of ashes, lain bare to be sacrificed to the forces of Fate!"

The energies in his hands flared. "DIE!"

He twisted his hand out of the samurai's shoulder, interlocking it with his other hand in the snake seal. The samurai couldn't react. To my extreme horror, there was a violent spark and the flesh of the swordsman's chest was torn open. His heart had been pulled out of him.

The world turned black again as I screamed.

* * *

The bird flew like a ghost through the streets a city, passing silently between buildings and over citizens as it urgently made it's way to the large red tower in the centre of the village. Haruno Sakura was filling in for the still hung over Hokage. It was only seven in the morning, and it would be at least another two hours before Tsunade could even be bothered to get up. In the meantime, Sakura was doing the paperwork that the Hokage had foolishly tried to skip over. Sakura would never have thought that the Lady Tsunade would ever procrastinate, had she been a regular citizen.

She was thinking of how Naruto would probably have been enthusiastic about this sort of thing when a blur of red feathers crashed into the office through the open window (to release the stench). Sakura flicked a feather out of her now low back length pink hair and took the scroll from the apparently agitated bird.

She shouldn't have even read the message, but it wasn't something she could have just left in the Hokage's mailbox. Her eyes widened and she had broken into a state of sweating panic herself by the time she was finished. She rushed to the sofa and shook the Hokage awake, not even contemplating the consequences of disturbing a pissed and smelly Tsunade. Sakura sounded desperate enough to escape those.

"Akatsuki! We're under attack-" Sakura hadn't even finished when there was an explosion of fire and several screams pierced the air of the quiet village. Tsunade didn't have to say a word before several of her ANBU appeared. Her appearance of tiredness had already disappeared and she looked dead serious.

"Badger- get the other teams and cover the gates. Tiger assemble the jounin and chūnin at the scene of the fight. Sparrow, I want a full report on enemy numbers and skills. Eagle, get the civilians and anyone genin or below to safety. I want no casualties." She turned to Sakura. "The rest of you, to the front."

Sakura wondered where Sasuke was. Knowing him, he was probably giving a light show at one of the gates. She readjusted her glove and, again, found herself wondering what Naruto would be doing during a nationwide emergency. He'd probably attempt to save everyone in some fancily tragic way. Or he'd freak out and lose consciousness.

The storm had finally passed as Shinkirou got around halfway across the sea. The boat she was in that was powered by an animation seal she'd developed during her pair of years teaching the people of the Wave Country. She had enjoyed it, but it wasn't as easy with Naruto having so mysteriously disappeared. She'd worried and worried and punched holes in a few people for some weeks before she quit fretting. He was Naruto. He wouldn't die without the entire world hearing about it.

The people of Wave would be a recognised village in a few years thanks to her efforts in teaching them the ninja arts. She'd personally taken charge of Inari's training, so much so he was now at the level of a chūnin. Far, far below her, unfortunately. But for a twelve year old civilian born boy, he was a prodigy. A vast majority of the population- even Tsunami, despite her age- had taken up some form of chakra use, be it for household activities or for the purpose of accentuating a sword style.

There was one other person who had exceeded all others- including Inari. A little girl by the name of Yuri. She had an amazing gift for sensing chakra. This was mainly because she was synaesthetic. She said peoples' voice sounded grey or strangely royal blue. She had once said Shinkirou tasted like storm clouds. That was when she'd begun dreading wet weather- what if she suddenly sprouted lightning bolts or blew herself halfway across the Nations? Yuri had never met Naruto, but had asked Shinkirou why her chakra clung to that 'blue stuff'. She'd spent weeks worrying about those things until she figured it out. Naruto's Rasengan was blue. The wind he generated had a bluish tinge about it. His eyes were her favourite shade of blue.

And they'd been great friends. She worried about Naruto more than she could fool herself out of with one of her illusions. But she wasn't clingy. She was the Senkakku Shinkirou, the Red Mistress, feared by all men and respected by her fellow kunoichi. Almost. She sighed again.

* * *

I opened my eyes, blinking at the soft light over my face. It was sunlight. Musashi sat beside me, watching the sun rise again. He was smoking his pipe as usual- contemplating the day's events probably.

"So you have seen it?" He continued to stare at the red blob that was slowly rising up and getting brighter. I nodded grimly.

"I've seen it. So he's still alive? And I have to fight him?"

Musashi nodded slowly, seemingly dazed. "He is your enemy. He cannot afford to let you live. Because, as you might have guessed, he did not only hate the samurai. Anegawa Kaijin was more than just that."

I don't know how, but I recognised the name. It had something to do with a painful history lesson back on Myōbokuzan. "Wasn't he...a doctor, or something?"

Musashi nodded. "The greatest doctor- though his skills are shadowed by the fame Tsunade has earned as part of the legendary Sannin. He has those eyes. And because you have them, he's willing to tear down this earth just to have you found and those eyeballs plucked out of your head. But he has been bidding his time.

Akatsuki have become fully active. Right now, there will be an attack taking place. All of the Nine will be there. And if I am not mistaken, the only village lacking the military power to overthrow nine of the greatest ninja, is the Hidden Leaf. Without you, they are finished. Your village is the epicentre of the fight against Akatsuki. If they are eliminated, the rest of the world will follow."

I felt like getting up and running as fast as I could for Konoha. But I couldn't bring myself to do anything but nod. Musashi continued. "There will be a siege lain- Konoha are not weak enough to lose in one straight battle- and if we can finish in time, you can pass on the Tender Hands and storm your old home."

Musashi stood as the sun reached its highest point of rise and morning brightness filled the expanse of the large castle. "Its time you learnt why I'm one tough old man."

* * *

Sasuke was breathing heavily. His ribs ached where a Kumo-nin had tried to punch a hole in him. The fumes that filled the air- blood, sweat and the peculiar sense of enjoyment- made it uncomfortable to breathe. Another nin rushed him. Sasuke's body kicked into a familiar gear. He grabbed the man, planting a fist of lightning in his gut. Kakashi, an eye out for any of the Akatsuki, speared his neck with a kunai. His Sharingan was spinning violently and he didn't seem to be tired at all. He winked at Sasuke and round-housed one of the mercenaries in the gut.

They'd been at it for two hours. At first, the Leaf ninja were giving the attackers a hard time, thriving with the seals Jiraiya was laying to bind the enemies and the slugs poisoning them with slime. An unfamiliar Akatsuki had appeared and forced Jiraiya away from the gates. Preoccupied with the renewed force of ninja rattling against the walls, the others were hard pressed to help him.

Sasuke knew he was tiring. Stamina had never been his strongest point. He usually aimed to finish his fights quickly. More time passed, and still the waves of Kumo nin and untrained mercenaries grew stronger. At this point, someone would have to pull a Fourth and use something safely destructive. Luckily, the Hokage was still a little mobile. Someone grabbed his elbow and he jumped as Sakura began to talk in an almost calm voice, despite the chaos ensuing.

"The Hokage wants you and Kakashi. Something about a genjutsu layering..." Sasuke's look of confusion vanished after a few seconds.

"Ah, the illusion pass." It had initially been Shikamaru's idea, but Sasuke and Kakashi had made it possible with their Sharingan. Only Itachi could have a chance of breaking through a genjutsu like that. It was simple. Shikamaru had once tried to test Sasuke's intelligence by asking him a question with several 'not's. _Can you not not not try to not not kill?_

If a not was a layer of illusion, and the second not was a layer of reality, then an odd number of layers in a genjutsu meant it was an illusion, and an even number meant that what you were seeing was true. He'd used the same principal to create a powerful illusion that constantly shifted the layer number. It could range from one to about five hundred thousand depending on how much chakra the _entire _village had at a time. Since the civilians had been pulled down into a secret area, the illusion's input had decreased. Tsunade needed Sasuke to change who it bound itself to in order to keep the illusion stable. If it ran out of chakra, the whole village would turn to a black, dead collection of organisms and even the buildings would die, if they were made of wood.

They passed over the wall and into the silent, empty village. No one had managed to get in- the walls only let through the signatures of those who had been allowed through by the Hokage. They were at the tower in less than a minute and were soon on the roof. Tsunade was sitting in a seal array with four ANBU, a method of meditation that connected her with the thousands of slugs roaming the battle areas and reporting what they saw. Shikamaru was standing outside the seal, obviously there to break down the information the slugs collected and formulate plans.

Sasuke noticed Shikamaru looking up as Kakashi landed beside him. "Now that you're all here," the lazy genius uttered in an instructive voice. "the pass needs fixing and, later on, a little boost as part of a high risk operation we must conduct." The Nara began to pace, going over the finer details of the plan. "The three of you are going to gather two more teams and attempt to quickly defeat the Akatsuki, one after the other."

When Team 7 remained silent, he continued. "The idea is this. We draw them into the village through holes in the wall's defence that the Hokage will temporarily open. Then, since you will be a little breathless after that, one of these ANBU- who is skilled with clones to an inhuman degree- will distract the Akatsuki. This gives you the chance to finish them off- or at least keep them pinned. Then this same ANBU will lay down a seal and trap the Akatsuki- dead or alive."

For a moment, it seemed like just another mission. Sasuke nodded in understanding. He drew the sword from his hip that he'd neglected to use for a while. "So who're we targeting?"

Shikamaru seemed to think for a moment before speaking. "These nine are...not as we expected. You see, they're not the original nine. They're new recruits hoping to get a shot at glory. Still, they're no pushovers. Here's the list."

He pulled a pencil thin scroll from his vest pocket and gave it to Kakashi. "Make sure this doesn't wind up a mess."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think it will?"

Shikamaru opened his mouth to answer, but then thought better of it. He turned, and muttered so that the Hokage wouldn't accidentally catch what he was saying. "Since Naruto left, you've never gone above B. You're more than capable."

Kakashi looked grim. Sakura had not felt like speaking the entire briefing. Whatever happened, they'd always be missing Naruto.

* * *

I'm changing my pen name, to correspond with my name on other sites. I am Shodai24 Sorry for the inconvenience.


	10. Gearing Up

**The Apprentice of Time**

**Gearing Up**

A metal figurine. It was basic, with smooth limbs and no distinguishable features on its face. Except for a pair of hollow circles in its head. "This is why you're strong?"

The old nan nodded. He handed me his staff and cracked his knuckles. "Watch carefully."

He stepped in front of the manikin, mirroring its positioning. Nothing happened for a moment. Then the metal puppet began to change. It grew shorter, hair sprouted on its skull, contours appearing all over its face. Some of the metal wrinkled and became flexible like skin. Then the colour drained into the body. A perfect replica of Musashi faced the old man, all the way down to the tiny scars around his wrist, where he was supposedly bound before.

Then one hell of a fight ensued. They both fought with one hand, similar to Lee's style. Their arms moved lightning fast. Neither had the edge over the other. Musashi wasn't breaking a sweat- nor was his metal replica.

The fight ended when Musashi stepped aside, causing his clone to stumble to his right. A simple tap, and the figurine was completely crushed and on the ground. And he still had not broken a sweat.

"Whoa...that was...SUGOI, DATTEBAYO!"

Musashi laughed, a triumphant old man. "That's nothing! When I was in my prime, I could take on the Kinkaku Forces and defeat them in a minute and a half."

I gaped for a few more seconds before I took hold of myself. "So I have to beat this thing?"

"Indeed. But we'll have to take this outside." We had been in an old stone room, cut out of the nearby mountains. Musashi sealed the manikin away, and we went back up to the surface, the broad daylight casting a bright glow over the snow and melting it slightly. Musashi unsealed the manikin.

When I was ready, I stood in front of the metal humanoid, and waited. It began to twist into shape, the spikes in the long hair forming. The cloak flapped like metallic silk, the sage's gi beneath it. The colour slowly appeared like a stain, and there I was.

We stared at each other for several seconds. This thing really had my mindset. Musashi watched, puffing on his pipe. My double's finger twitched. Knowing my speed, I charged, throwing a right fist. My clone countered, bringing up his own. I coated my left with wind and was going to stab the clone when he made the same motion, forcing our hands down. There was a spark and I jumped back. I'd almost been disintegrated.

"Katon: Genzouryuu!" The clone produced a hulking blade of fire and sent it flying at me. I barely had time to dodge. The clone bore down on me again. I spun around the clone, one of my hands in a seal as we stood back to back.

"Joukaiken!"

I stabbed the clone, cringing slightly at the thought of spearing my own flesh. There was a bright flash. And I was standing on the Hokage Tower. A great red fox was slashing through buildings and people were screaming everywhere.

"Hold it till the Fourth gets here!"

Standing on the edge of the railing, the Fourth Hokage was saying his last words. "I'm sorry, Naruto."

I felt my spine snap and I folded into myself. A shadow loomed over me. "Death has come."

The shadow engulfed me, and I screamed.

* * *

I gasped awake. Musashi was leaning worriedly over me. We were in the room I would be sleeping in during my stay. "You still can't handle the memory...?"

I sighed. "It bites. The fox might have had a hand in this. I know I've never seen him standing on the rail before. I usually see him crying..."

"Ah...Minato Namikaze. I once met him, when he was still a two year old boy. My kin and I were travelling at the time. It was in Iwa. He was practically an idiot sometimes. But facing an enemy, he'd become a real shinobi. He never really liked fighting. Only killed when he thought it was needed.

"Why does it haunt you?"

"My mother." I got up an gulped down the jug of water on the nearby table. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. "I don't remember her saying goodbye. But she did. I'm sure of it."

Musashi said nothing as I pulled my sandals back on. "How long have I been out?"

"Sixteen hours. Its six in the morning."

I shrugged. "Breakfast it is, then."

We were accompanied by a servant to the dining room. Iori and Yume were already there, as well as several other Senkakku, all with various shades of purple and maroon hair. They had their eyes on me. Musashi cleared his throat authoritatively. "This...is Naruto Uzumaki. He will be the Bearer."

A storm of protest immediately ensued. Some were shouting at the top of their voices, others were simply shocked and others were getting up to leave. Musashi remained silent throughout this. It was the fact that he was not arguing that eventually drew the room into silence.

"This boy is the possessor of the Eye of Time. He could have chosen not to help us. He has everey right to do that. But because he is _kind _enough to assist us in getting the Tender Hands to its heir, I have chosen to accept him. Therefore, you shall do the same."

The shameful silence hung for several seconds. Then they resumed eating, not daring to speak. There had been a tension over this entire matter with the Tender Hands. That made me more determined to finish the preparation.

After I enjoyed some waffles and cream, we returned to the manikin. This time, several of the family members were watching, as if they knew what was happening. I stepped in front of the metal humanoid again. It blurred back into my form, and this time I took no chances. "Kage Bunshin."

I made two clones and my replica did the same. We charged in a split second. "Sennen Gufuuyari!"

Each one of us had a fist of wind, swirling in the air. The collision resulted in an explosion of light, as I expected. So I activated my Jikokugan. I spotted the metal replica and charged him. I threw a fist and he mirrored me. I sparked my leg with lightning and the clone ducked.

I spun around at high speed. "Futon: Kamikaze!" A gust of wind chakra blew out of my tenkutsu- or the 203 I could control. The replica replaced himself and I rushed him again, relentless. We engaged in taijutsu, punching. Dodging. Kicking. I decided to end it. Defeating myself sure was hard. I'd been working on this for a long time.

"Kouinton: Tokeite."

I raised my arm and pointed my palm at the replica. I didn't know of a counter to this technique. I saw the replica slow down significantly. Then the explosion, a stage I hadn't yet figured out to contain, occurred. The clones were instantly turned to ashes by the fluctuating time matter.

But it failed. The clone rushed out of the explosion. All it had lost was its left arm. That might have been enough for a real opponent. But to my frustration, the metal spun again like silk and the arm reformed, exactly as it was before. What would it take to defeat this thing?

The clone rushed at me. I sidestepped and kicked it in the gut. I had to use all of my strongest techniques...except that one. I followed up with a punch. The clone threw himself to the ground. I stabbed at him with a chakra blade. He rolled out of the way and jumped, throwing a kick at me.

I caught it with my hand. The replica twisted, bringing his other leg around. I let go. As the replica spun I went through hand seals.

"Raiton: Raiden!"

A large demonic shaped lighting entity flew out of my palm and at the replica. He was, essentially, metal. Lightning would be his weakness. I raised an eyebrow when I saw he stood stock still. The way this technique was moving, he wouldn't have time to move, even with my speed.

Then I noticed things were speeding up. The smoke from the explosion was rising at lightning speed. He'd used Jikoku Saihatsu. So the counter was simple. "Raiton: Kamirei!"

My speed increased a hundredfold. The replica attacked me and I dispatched him easily. I body slammed him into the ground. The replica began to rise again. Dammit! I got angry and simply pulled out one of my summons. "Kuchiyose: Iijinken!"

There was a puff of smoke and a large sword, as big as the ones in Mist, graced my hand. It had a handle wrapped in bandages and the pommel was a gleaming white stone. The blade was about as wide as my hand. It tapered off at a sharp point at the end.

I plunged it into the replica, pinning it into the ground. There was a burst of smoke. A clone! I spun around. The replica was right behind me. Holding an identical blade. I wasn't trained as a swordsman, so my strikes were a little clumsy. I eventually threw it at the replica. It dodged. I summoned another blade and sliced down at the metal me. It sidestepped, as I expected.

"Joukaiken!" The wind went through the blade as I pulled it out of the ground. I spun in mid air, using the weight of the blade to slice the replica in half. It was a log. Then I paused, realizing. There was a way.

Shinkirou had taught me some of her skills in genjutsu before I'd left Wave. One thing I'd learnt was how to cook up an illusion in a heartbeat. So I said nothing as I made the ram seal. What sense...sound wouldn't work, it was a metallic human being. So...touch.

I walked over to the replica, who looked confused. I grasped him by the neck, as little cautiously. I didn't want to kill myself. Then I spiked the flows. The clone's eyes glazed over, like he was seeing something else. I implanted the image. And the clone began to shake violently, like it was having a seizure.

The Senkkaku were still watching.

I let go of the clone. And it faded into metal again.

Musashi walked up to me. He seemed quite inquisitive. "How did you do it?"

I grinned. "I showed him my fear."

* * *

Today I'll be uploading another chapter- hopefully. Until then, check out my one-shot and tell me what you think. :-)


	11. The Game Plan

**The Apprentice of Time**

**The Game Plan**

Sasuke kept his eye on the gates. There was a man standing on top of the wall, stock still and watching, just like Sasuke was. He had shoulder length hair and a black cloak with red clouds on it. He was Itachi.

Sasuke was tempted to attack him full on. But he had to wait for the signal. Clouds of dark nimbus hung placidly over the village, holding back a heavy downpour. The rough concrete of the building he was standing on kept his feet gripped. And all the time he had been standing still, his hand on his sword and his ears trying to hear past the blowing winds.

_How much longer? _Then, overhead, a phoenix of lightning, electricity hissing and spitting, appeared. The signal. Taking his time, Sasuke slowly drew the sword. It gleamed, even in the dim light of the cloudy day, yearning for his brother's blood. The hatred contained over years, the searing anger that would have driven him towards Orochimaru, came up again.

His Sharingan spun like a tornado. And with a single step, he was in front of Itachi. He was as stoic as ever, his eyes blandly meeting Sasuke's. A corner of his mouth turned up slightly. "Foolish little brother. You come charging, expecting to win. But you will lose. You are still blind to your true power."

Sasuke realized he was melting. It burned like the fires of hell. And yet he couldn't feel it, at the same time. Then he remembered why Itachi hadn't killed him instantly that day. _When you have these eyes..._

_Damn it! I'm not prepared! _Then he was in hell.

* * *

Sakura had jumped off the moment she saw the phoenix, throwing a gloved fist at the man in front of her. He looked more like a girl, with a smooth, young face and red hair, covered in the large drape of the Akatsuki cloak. Standing in front of him was what seemed to be...a puppet. _So this guy's like Kankurou? _

The man didn't move an inch, but the puppet suddenly lashed out, blades sharp as ice sticking out of its arms. And on the tips was a purple substance..._Poison, _Sakura quickly gauged. _Definitely like Kankurou._

Sakura knew she had to be careful. What was on those blades could have no antidote. The puppet tried to slice her in half. She ducked. Then she almost panicked. The blades could be released! Sakura frowned in concentration as she completed the Replacement. She was overlooking this guy's abilities. If he was an Akatsuki, his puppets would hold a whole thousand bags more full of tricks than Kankurou's.

And hadn't she heard of this guy from somewhere? "You're quite skilled."

"Oh, I'm flattered. Few people say that to me before I kill them. Maybe I'll give you an instant one-hit death. And then you'll make an excellent addition to my collection."

Now she remembered. "Sasori of the Red Sand..."

Sasori smiled, a smile that Sakura would have liked to see had she not been about to die.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance..."

* * *

Shikamaru was becoming anxious. Maybe he should have upped the time limit to ten minutes. He'd never doubted any of the plans he had made, nor had he ever made an error when it came to knowing the outcome of one. But this one had several factors.

There was a war outside the walls, and no one could pass information in or out. That was why five minutes was the max, because a total loss of life on the other side could be occurring. Akatsuki always had a new trick up their sleeve. Ensuring one of them was captured wouldn't be hard, but making sure he bagged the whole nine should have taken eighteen jounin.

He only had nine shinobi, and less than half of them were actually qualified jounin. They just had the talent. Having sent the signal using a scroll, Shikamaru threw the scroll away from him, just as it self destructed, turning into ashes. He'd chosen not to try fighting any of the Akatsuki. There was a six in eight chance that the operation would fail. Adding himself to the mix might reduce it to four in eight. Which still sucked. So he'd let things suck a little more than they should. It wasn't like Kakashi couldn't kill three of them.

* * *

Duck. Spin. Jump. Kunai. He slashed another cut into the Akatsuki's skin. This one was certainly S-class. But, for some reason, he never tried to counter any of Kakashi's attacks. Whenever he injured the cloaked man, he would simply repair itself- even the fabric! Kakashi flashed through the hand seals for a Chidori. He could use some serious back up on his weak sides.

This guy used clones. Earth, and some others that grew out of the trees, but were not Mokuton. Some kind of flora techniques. As he disposed of the last one with a simple nudge in the balls, the silver haired jounin finished his preparation, wielding the cackling lightning in his hand like a spear. He flew at the Akatsuki.

The man dodged, but Kakashi kept feeding chakra and surprised him with a slash across the abdomen, almost cutting him in half. The Hatake could not see anything behind the black mask with two slashes of white above the left eyebrow. But the eyes...they were glowing. Silver.

Kakashi sucked in a breath as the shinobi grasped his palm in mid-flight. The electricity winked out. Then something dark, like pitch black smoke, began to seep out of the man's cloak, enveloping the area and licking at Kakashi's toes. It burned like ice. It started moving upwards, and he froze in fear. His hand was in a vice-like grip. He dared not look away from the man's eyes, fearing the worst.

The shadows crept up towards Kakashi's chest. His breathing quickened. A voice cried out somewhere inside him. _Move! Move! _Kakashi tried his utmost, but his body rebelled against him. His soul felt isolated from his body. The shadows reached his neck. Kakashi felt his lungs giving out. There was a blur of green, and an equally blurry series of shouts. Then it was awfully dark.

* * *

"Kaiten!" The sphere of blue chakra laced around Neji, deflecting the barrage of shark that had been thrown at him. This guy was good. Despite being the one person who could have taken out Hoshigaki Kisame, Neji was having serious doubts about even being able to survive the fight.

Truly S-class. Kisame had his sword pointed at Neji, the blue, spiky flesh beneath the bandages half revealed. He had skill close enough to match the Nidaime. And Neji wasn't prone to using Katon or Doton, for the simple reason that he also used Suiton. And he was far outclassed here. Kisame charged him again, swinging the Samehada in a dance of death.

Neji had a simple tactic for Kisame's full on attacks. "Eight Trigrams Empty Palm!"

Kisame was blown away by a burst of amazing force. The split second before he recovered was all Neji had. He went through the appropriate motions. Thank goodness Gai had thought to teach him this. But he wasn't able to handle as much of it as Lee. "Gate of Opening!"

He struck Kisame twice. "Gate of Healing!" He struck four times. Then the last one. He always had trouble controlling it. "Gate of Life!" His skin blazed red and he charged up the chakra.

"Eight Trigrams Palm of Three Paths!" He struck Kisame at every tenkutsu he could find, making sure to crush as many as he could. The Akatsuki was shocked. Blood pooled out of his mouth as he lay twitching on the ground. Neji had made sure to knock the sword out of his hand. The energy faded away.

And then came the intense agony. "ARRGH!"

He swore more than the full sum of his ancestors.


	12. Gearing Up Part 2

**The Apprentice of Time**

**Gearing Up- Part 2**

I sighed and got up. I couldn't sleep. I slipped on my coat and slippers and left the room as quietly as I could. The whole house was asleep. I'd never been around at night. I navigated my was through the huge mansion, passing doors and hearing the peaceful snores of some and the pigged out ones of others.

Eventually I slid open the door to the gigantic back yard. The air was nice despite it being winter. It wasn't that cold, so I crept out and leaned against the wall, looking at the stars. I was undisturbed. As I was about to go back inside, a voice spoke from the doorway. "Get back in here. You'll catch a death..."

I turned around. Musashi. He was smoking his pipe as usual, wearing a sombre face. I'd only gone past on stage in the training. That was knowing my weaknesses. Tomorrow we would start kenjutsu lessons, and I'd be taught the ways of the samurai. "Sure thing, old man."

I stepped back in and slid the door closed behind me. I found myself wondering, out of nowhere, why I was doing all of this. Bearing swords, on my way to fight the first war of my life. It was disappointing, in a sense. I'd always thought I'd find a nice piece of land, gather the people, get a nice girl, have kid- then die in my sleep of old, old age- after seeing my greatest grandson being born.

And I'd had to train so hard, defeat missing-nin, and still be cowering beneath the shadow of the world. It was high time I became a Kage. Musashi noticed me thinking. "It's all a bit of a bummer, isn't it? Having to fight someone else's wars, help people any sensible ninja wouldn't trust. Sometimes, we get so far behind on our expectations, we feel like we've failed. But remember- you're only sixteen. You've got thirty more years to live and fight exceptionally well- you're not even in you prime.

"Slow down. Take your time. The world can wait, until you know that you can put a stop to it all."

I nodded. Patience. I'd never really been patient. Sixteen. Tazuna had told me I couldn't be a Kage before I was at least eighteen. So maybe a few years of war would give me the experience I needed to lead a village.

"Don't you think this place needs some fun people? Its like no one's ever been hit with a pie or got a bucketful of water in the history of your clan."

"Oh? You don't know the half of it..."

* * *

I woke up again at around nine the next morning. The smell of breakfast was wafting in from the kitchen. I got up and showered, then went down to eat. The table was awash with conversation, a stark contrast to yesterday. As I dug into some scrambled eggs. Yume sat next to me. She watched me eat, wearing a look on her face that people wore when they saw me consuming food.

"You eat far too fast." she admonished, taking a royal bite out of her toast.

"I'm still alive."

"You won't be if you choke on some umeboshi in your haste."

I huffed. She looked at me for a while, not taking another bite. "I...I'm sorry."

I froze, a strip of bacon hanging out of my mouth. I swallowed. "Not a problem...its pretty tough, carrying that sword around."

She resumed eating. "I never chose to do it."

I swallowed the last mouthful of scrambled eggs and downed some coffee. "You may not have chosen, but you can choose not to be bitter to the rest of the world."

She looked down at her food in silence as I got up. "Laugh a little." I suggested. "That kept me from blowing my enemies to cinder."

I stretched as I walked out of the room. Kenjutsu training..._Never thought I'd be doing that._

Musashi followed me out into the cool air a few seconds later. He was lighting up another batch of tobacco.

"I swear, you should have died of the stuff by now."

"I use a technique to clear my lungs." he muttered, lighting up the contents of the pipe. "Now, we need to be going to the temple."

I raised an eyebrow. "Temple?"

"Well, sure." He set off to the left, leaving stark imprints of his old fashioned sandals in the powdery snow. "Its actually underground. And its sacred..."

I scoffed. "Why am I not surprised?"

"To be honest, I don't know. Maybe you have a thing for temples."

We walked on for a few minutes more, the trees unchanging around us and the snow continuously blanketing the ground. Then the trees opened up into a lane of sorts, and a set of stone steps, covered in grime and snow, led down into a torch lit corridor.

"Follow." Musashi instructed. "Don't touch anything that makes you curious."

He went down the rock staircase at a sedate pace, a stream of smoke dogging him. I followed him down, looking from side to side. The walls were unnaturally flat, with grooves running along them, strange symbols adorning the walls. The torches, lit by bluish fire, gave no warmth, keeping the corridor as cold as the snowy world outside.

The passageway went on for about fifty metres more. Then it opened up into a large, circular area. Eight statues occupied edges of the circle, standing within circular parts of some kind of octagonal seal. Symbols and kanji similar to the ones on the walls of the corridor. Between the statues were doors of stone, each with a different kanji on it.

"Welcome to the Temple of the Ancients." Musashi uttered. "The first of the greatest ninja came here, and conferred, discussing what they would do with the world. They were close to gods, known everywhere. And one of these, the Master of Illusion, was my ancestor Senkkaku Fubatsu. He made this place our sacred ground, where we held the Tender Hands. Only those fit to bear it were even able to traverse the corridor.

"I'm allowed passage because I'm the clan head." Musashi explained. He walked up to one of the statues. It was the Sage of Six Paths, holding his staff, the curved stones resting upon his chest. Several rings emanated from his irises, making them appear like a bottomless pool.

"I believe this man is your ancestor. Of all these eight men, he surpassed them by a mile. The same gift has come upon you." He turned to face me. "Of your generation, you will be the one to oppose the same evil he has been fighting for years. An old friend of his."

He pointed to a statue directly opposite the Sage. I realised the way he was standing made it look like he was staring at his counterpart. This guy wore thin, round spectacles, with long black hair tied in a ponytail. He had a good natured, friendly face. There was some sort of rectangular bag slung across his back, and at his hip was a sword. I recognised the face, partly because it was like remembering a long lost brother- albeit a twisted one. "Anegawa Kaijin."

I turned to Musashi. "How come you know so much about these guys?"

Musashi cleared his throat. "Tell me, Naruto, do you believe in a little something called reincarnation?"

* * *

There's the twelfth chapter. Great thanks to WiggleWiggleWiggle (whoever you are, I want a signed review. Makes it easier to associate) for his wonderful review. Hope you remain curious, Hanzo.


	13. The Game Plan Part 2

**The Apprentice of Time**

**The Game Plan- Part 2**

When Kakashi woke up, he was expecting to see a pair of wonderful pearly gates, spectacularly lit up by holy light. Steps of the clearest glass would have led up to them, with saints and angels singing wonderful hymns, floating buoyantly like crystal bottles in a deep blue sea. He would be dancing on his way to eternal peace...

Unfortunately, he was lying on cracked marble pavement. Dust filled the air, robbing his parched lips of moisture. And right in front of him was...was... "ARRRGH!"

Kakashi leapt away and backed into a corner with incredible speed. Maito Gai was utterly bewildered. "What bothers you, my eternal rival?"

"Uh- nothing. What happened to that guy?" Kakashi dusted himself off and classically pulled out his IchaIcha. Gai threw a thumbs up, his teeth gleaming like gold despite the thin sunlight.

"He has been defeated!" Gai exclaimed. "You've been out for several minutes, and the sealing barrier you planned on has youthfully been put up!"

Kakashi groaned. He'd planned on quickly dispatching the Akatsuki and going to lend Sasuke a hand with Itachi. He'd known all along that Sasuke was going to end up meeting Itachi- it was a sibling thing. And Sasuke was far from skilled enough to kill his brother- let alone best him in a one-on-one. "Gai?"

"Yes, eternal rival!"

"Are all the fights over?" he inquired, turning another page. He wasn't reading a word.

"Yosh! All of them won by our youthful comrades!"

Kakashi blanched. Itachi would _never_ lose a fight to Sasuke- even at his current level. Akatsuki must have had an ulterior motive. Kakashi pulled his forehead protector up, not bothering to wonder who had put it back down again. He looked for the colour. There. It was heading out of the village. And a very similar chakra was going with it. Then...leading to the seal barrier was a hollow looking chakra. A puppet...or an artificial duplicate. There were two of those streams.

Kakashi looked at the two leading out of the village. One was a fraction brighter than the other, and both had been following along almost the same path. Sasuke had not been taken by force. He was pursuing Itachi. Kakashi pulled down his headband. Even though the situation should have been one of total panic, he felt awfully calm.

"Sasuke Uchiha has left the area."

* * *

Shikamaru painted down the last symbol of the seal, the outer one lain as a safeguard. He looked up. "All accounted for?"

Neji nodded. "All except Kakashi and Gai. They're on the other side of the village, not far from the west gate. They seem fine..."

Shikamaru whistled. "You can see pretty damn far. Ready, Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade loomed up out of the shadows. She was reluctant to proceed without Kakashi there to make sure no mistakes were made. "Let's get started." She cracked her knuckles ominously. "Spill all you know. Or you'll be glad to have met Ibiki instead of me."

* * *

The man stopped at the mouth of a cave, hovering in the air. He had to time this right. He turned around and threw down a smoke bomb. He knew his pursuers would have chased him relentlessly until he had been slaughtered. The cloud of gas surrounded him and he shunshined, or shadow stepped, as it should have been known, arriving within a secure location.

This was a dank, dimly lit room underground- but nowhere within the cave, of course. His favourite activity was using ploys. He took off the Akatsuki cloak he had been wearing and dumped it unceremoniously on the floor. There was another man sitting at a large workspace with a keyboard consisting of thousands of buttons- each one inscribed with different symbols from centuries ago. The large screen in front of him was flashing, the characters rapidly speeding across the screen.

He wordlessly made a hand seal and the man who had just arrived disappeared in a small cloud of smoke. A grin slowly spread across the other man's face, the eerie glow cast by the screen twisting his features into shadows. He pushed his spectacles up the bridge of his nose, grinning all the while.

"Just a little longer..."

* * *

Kakashi arrived as Tsunade was punching a wall. Unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, Tsunade never really discerned between glass and concrete. And it so happened that, as Kakashi was poking his head through the window in order to report what he had discovered, he got a very painful- though deliciously feminine, even if it _was_ fifty-four years of age- hand in his face.

Five minutes later, Tsunade was just about ready to punch another wall. "WHAT!"

Kakashi cringed, teeth chattering. "He just left. He followed Itachi out of the village."

Tsunade sighed in frustration. It was times like these Naruto would have been a world of wonder to have had around. "Why didn't you follow him?"

"I only realised what happened when Gai said Sasuke had beaten Itachi." Kakashi looked at the nine Akatsuki who were tied up. Some of them he could tell were total fakes- like the ones with masks. Tsunade had already punched a hole in the fake Sasuke. She'd been about to do the same with the fake Sakura when the latter seized the initiative and punched one in her sensei for doubting her. It was certainly a humbling sight.

"How is it going out there, Shikamaru?" The lazy bastard had just arrived, bringing with him a surprisingly calm face. What his said barely matched his expression. "They're trying to break down the gates."

Again Tsunade wished Naruto was around. He would have learnt how to seal from Jiraiya during his training. "And what are you doing about it?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "You could lay a trap or keep them from breaking down the gates. Or both."

Tsunade would have to take one option. They didn't have enough resources to do both. What was a greater risk...Tsunade reached a decision.

"Get me Konohamaru..."

* * *

"Duck!" The boy fell to the ground like a lead weight. He knew better than to ignore Tenten's warnings- but he didn't doubt that she would never have hit him. Udon straightened up once again. He _hated _battlefields. It was a simple thing, ending a war. You just got rid of the cause, assuming you were neutral, and that was it. It was a pity that, like samurai or mercenaries, ninja had a shiteload of pride.

Udon heard a whistling and twisted around. "Move your ass!" The shout coerced him into swivelling backwards as a staff passed over his head, deflecting the shuriken. It was Konohamaru.

"You damned idiot, can't you stay out of the way!" Konohamaru yelled.

Udon frowned unpleasantly. "I had that one covered!"

"You hadn't lifted a finger!" the Sarutobi retorted.

"Cut it out you two!" Moegi snapped. She grabbed the two boys by the neck and pulled them down with her as a large lump of earth covered in lightning flashed past. "Hokage-sama wants to see you, Konohamaru!"

The Sarutobi looked surprised. "Me? Why?"

"Just go!" Moegi instructed. "And we have get out of here, they're trying to bring down the gate! We'll meet you ate the base."

Konohamaru nodded and took off running, his long blue scarf trailing behind him.

* * *

Sasuke wiped blood off his mouth, his throat sore from overusing his fireballs. He held his sword loosely in his left hand, the other hanging limply by his side, bleeding from a cut that ran the length of his forearm. Itachi looked better off than him. He only had some bruises on his face and cut in his shoulder.

Sasuke's eyes were aching. He'd let loose a lot of Raiton, but he still wasn't getting anywhere. Itachi wasn't even breathing that heavily. _I still have a good amount of chakra..._But would it be enough? He could draw on some from his environment, but Kakashi had forbidden him from doing that unless _absolutely _necessary. It wasn't just something he could waste, just to keep a little suffering at bay. He'd have to do without the chakra.

Itachi remained still as Sasuke went through the hand seals. The younger Uchiha slammed his palm into the ground. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" There was a large cloud of smoke, the size of an apartment building...It had drained him. _I just have enough for a Chidori...but this will work for sure._

Itachi had to look up very high to meet its eyes. He had to say he was impressed. He liked the talons. And the eyepatch.

"**What scum is this, brat? I didn't come here to fight some ridiculously dressed twin of yours."

* * *

**

So that's chapter thirteen. The poll on my profile's getting little attention (a thousand readers and only eighteen votes. Really.) It weighs a little on the story, but I'm doing this for your own good (its so no one complains) so vote for your name of choice!


	14. The Temple of the Ancients

**The Apprentice of Time**

**The Temple of the Ancients**

"Reincarnation?" I would never have believed it, but having met a necromancer, it seemed like a very interesting possibility. "And who, exactly, would you be a reincarnation _of_?"

"This will take a while..." Musashi sighed, blowing a dark, heart like shape into the air. "It all started a long, long while ago. I think I was...seventeen. Ah, yes. This was the dawn of the ninja world, mind you-"

"WHAT!" I exclaimed, shocked beyond belief. "You're seven hundred years old...!"

Musashi chuckled. "Not really, no. Anyway, I think if you look at these eight people, none of them is a woman. This is mostly due to the fact that, around this time, kunoichi were considered witches. If you've ever picked up a history book, the greatest known kunoichi is Tsunade of the Sannin. There were, during my time, kunoichi as powerful as the Fourth Hokage. Of course, men were just as powerful.

"And since kunoichi were in the minority, and considered to be doing jobs solely meant for men, they were shunned. Now why, do you wonder, was the Sage doing nothing about this? Well, since he was gifted with foresight, he knew it would end all nice and well, disregarding anything that occured in between. Now I happened to be apprenticed to a blacksmith who forged swords for the Sage (I learnt his sword style- that's the Senkkaku heirloom now) and I was there when he broke down the Juubi. It was a sight to behold. Right about that time, my son (who shall remain unnamed for certain reasons) was born. My wife was from what you nowadays call the Hidden Rain. I'll leave it at that-"

"Oooh." I understood now, who this guy was. "You were Hanzo's great-great-great...around a hundred and eighty-six generations, right? Wonder how that happened."

Musashi flushed. "_Moving on_, she was an excellent kunoichi and protected by the fact that I was connected to the Sage. His splitting of the Juubi, as you know, was not without consequence. The moment the Sage died, those who had been lurking pounced. It was a battle I will never forget, and the results...my wife died. I was going to kill myself as well- but Anegawa Kaijin took care of that.

"I know you studied a lot of history, so I know you can guess who I was. Just look at the statues."

I looked around, turning a full circle. I noticed something Musashi in one of them. "That one? With the giant sword?"

Musashi nodded, a little surprised. Apparently, I knew him far too well. "That's me. I was actually the first to popularize the zanbatou. Mine was impossible to carry until I was able to punch a hole in the earth itself with my physical strength alone."

I wasn't surprised. The thing was monstrous- it was over five feet long, its curvature and sharpness like that of a crescent moon. It had no guard, with the handle simply ending where the blade began. The blade itself was etched with symbols. "A motto of mine," Musashi explained, "One that quickly became a quote associated with marriage- its actually 'Till death tear me apart'."

I doubled over laughing. This guy was one hell of a character. "Till death...what a way to have a claim to fame, old man."

Musashi cleared his throat. "But back to business. I was born some hundred years later as a descendant of myself, and here I am now. That's how I know the Sage, and that's why I'm helping you stop Anegawa Kaijin."

I nodded, clearing my mind of all humour. It was time to cut to the chase. "So I have to navigate this place?" The old Senkkaku nodded. "Any chance of a clue?"

Musashi shook his head, blowing an 'x' into the air. "'Fraid not, boy."

"Meet on the other side?" I inquired, carefully coating my chakra with an invisible residue. This place, whichever corridor I chose to take, could be riddled with chakra detection traps.

Musashi shrugged, blowing another shapely cloud of cigar smoke into the air. "Why not?"

* * *

_Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. _I was beginning to regret ever agreeing to this. For one thing I was _lost_. The corridor- I'd chosen the one next to the Sage, the west- had spawned into a never-ending maze. If I turned one corner I'd wind up in the same place I'd been in before- and at times I couldn't tell. Marking the walls didn't help either because the walls absorbed whatever you put on them within half a minute.

And I didn't learn any navigational jutsu on Myōbokuzan. Except for the star viewing seal the Yondaime had once been working on. But seals would be dangerous and unstable to use in this temple, because the walls were pulsing with chakra, and some of it was leaking into the air I was breathing. _Well, he hadn't said this would be easy._

And so I set off once again.

* * *

When Konohamaru had been summoned by the Hokage, he had, of course, expected to be doing a task essential to everyone's survival. Unfortunately, this particular set of instructions sent more shivers down his spine than when he had witnessed Naruto's bodily harm courtesy of some angry Academy girls.

"You want me to do what?" The boy exclaimed in fright and shock.

"I want you to unseal the Third's trove and pull out what you can about the most controllable destructive jutsu he ever created. You memorize a few hand seals, take my special soldier pill and that's the end of it."

"But, but- won't this jutsu kill a lot of people? I don't want to do that!" the young Sarutobi cried.

Tsunade groaned. She should have gotten Asuma to do this. But then she would be risking losing a tenth of Konoha's overall firepower. He was that valuable. "Listen, kid. This whole fight hangs on you. If you refuse to do this, you'll be costing more lives than a bucketful of Kakashi's sperm can replenish." Konohamaru flushed at the reference male sex cells. "So if you don't want your head on a the spike of a noble's gate in Iwa, you'll do as I say. Is that understood?"

Konohamaru nodded. He was suddenly very enthusiastic t get this over with. And much besides, they hadn't said he'd die if he failed.

How mistaken the poor lad was.

* * *

Sasuke sweatdropped. "Gracious. He's my brother, Sora-sama."

The large hawk took a moment to survey the man once again. He didn't doubt what the kid said. **"Unfortunate resemblance. And he's with the Dawn?"**

Sasuke was blank for a couple of seconds before he realised what the Hawk Boss was saying. Dawn was how the summmons spoke of Akatsuki. "Same old, same old, I'm sure. Ever fought one of these?"

The Hawk Boss nodded. **"Summoned by hooligan of a ninja in Mist when they were attacked by one with an orange mask. If I'm not mistaken, he had your eyes. Eye, to be precise."**

Sasuke blanched. Only one Uchiha had ever had a single eye in his socket. And he should be dead. "Impossible."

Itachi Uchiha thought as much. Unfortunately he knew even more. This whole plan was behind destroying said ninja after all. He listened to his dear little brother's conversation with avid interest. Konoha didn't know about Madara...he'd have to find a way around that. In the meantime, he had the strongest combination to face- a wind summon and an Uchiha. _Yummy. _

As the hawk leapt high into the air and rocketed him like a NASA rocket, it occurred to Itachi that he had failed to fulfil his dream of eating pocky right in the face of Death. He'd run out the night before munching away on top of Pain's highest castle tier. _Oh well._

And so came the two hawks.

* * *

Short for a two week reprieve, but I'm on bought time at the moment. But on Friday at exactly ten o'clock, I will be freer than the Hubble! Poll will close in a while...maybe after chapter 20, I guess. Hope you enjoyed!


	15. The Tree of Time

**The Apprentice of Time**

So the winner is: Arashigakure, the Land of Storms! Thanks to those who voted, and sorry to those who won't get to see their favourite name on Naruto's new Kage wear. This will be a longer than usual chapter (aiming for 5-6k for the first time in my life) so retainers on and strap your llamas into their safety belts!

There's a new question on my profile, so vote anew! I'll reveal the reasons someday. And now for the fifteenth chapter! Milestone!

**The Tree of Time**

When the walls revealed the slightest of changes for the first time in what felt like centuries, my heart began to race. _This is it. A pattern!_

I began to inspect the walls closely like a detective on hot pursuit, quickly picking out the subtle clue. The symbols were changing. I'd finally realised the pattern. The pulses of chakra maintained a constant signature. But deep within the unassuming works of art and curvature that were the many clan symbols and insignia, there were simple errors. Blanks, actual micro-holes in the wall- things that most trained hunters would catch onto eventually.

It was a wonder I hadn't noticed it earlier. I turned the last corner. Then I emerged into a cavernous room once again. This was more like outside than a room. In actual fact, I was standing on a gently sloping hill of grass, with a cloudless blue sky above me. A faint mist caressed my bare neck and heels. This felt no different from the countryside in Kusagakure.

What really stood out was that huge, _huge_ tree at the top. It was about the size of three thousand Godzillas in a bear-hug, thick and knobbly at each branch, which was as thick as three men. The individual limbs branched millions of times, emerging to thinner, more mundane sized twigs. Hanging off them at the buds were what seemed like shards of crystal, long and thin. "Vials?"

It was then I realised the tree was very familiar, like a thousand year old daydream. Wasn't it on Myōbokuzan...? Ah, so I had premonition too...I gazed at the tree. "But it didn't have vials then..."

* * *

_Minato Namikaze stood on the edges of Konoha, deep inside the forest. He was hastily scrawling away at a scroll, leaving several blothces on the parchment. It wouldn't really matter. He'd only started perfecting his handwriting when he'd become Hokage. He finished writing and sealed the scroll into the main one. He'd have to put this somewhere._

Maybe..._Minato made sure his son was securely wrapped in the bundle of cloth._

"_Come on, Naruto." he murmured. "Let's go to the old Father Tree."_

_The pair stood at the base of a gigantic tree. Minato laid the scrolls against the rough bark and made a one handed seal. Naruto giggled happily as the tree slowly consumed the manuscript. "Lookie, Naruto! Its eating the scroll!"_

_The Yondaime chuckled, but his smile soon faded. "I'm sorry son. I have to go."

* * *

_I wiped a tear from my eye. I was going to pay that tree a visit one day. But for now, I'd have to settle for what I knew was my mind. No one else could have recreated such a tree. _Especially in this __heap of retarded old stone.

* * *

_Konohamaru found himself outside the doors of the Hokage Tower. He had no idea where he should be going, and, for all he knew, the Sandaime's Trove didn't exist and Tsunade was sending him to his death.

Rather than remain a sitting duck, the young Sarutobi summoned up a tracking monkey. He'd need a way to pick up a scent. Only one way to do that. "To the Hokage Memorial, Nao." Konohamaru instructed. "Pick a banana on the way if you like."

Nao, about the same size as the Monkey King Enma, was a joy to ride, and he was a phenomenal tracker, only just short of Enma. He could have bug squashed Konohamaru for his pun on bananas, but this was the Heir. He would be primate paste for that.

"Sure."

And so the two monkeys set off. Hopefully not to their demise.

* * *

Shikamaru watched the young Sarutobi and his pet monkey journey through the village. At the same time, the North Gate burst open. Immediately there was radio from Kakashi.

"Shadow! Come in, Shadow!" The static made the Hatake's voice hard to distinguish from what could only be the noise of cheers.

"Roger, Inu." Shikamaru spoke calmly. "What's your status?"

who let shakira do the world cup song?

"Where's that sealer!" Kakashi screeched into the mike. "We have thousands of enemy-nin flooding the village. They're torching a few buildings already! What's your plan?"

"There won't be sealer." Shikamaru replied. "Hokage-sama has devised a simple method of ridding us of most of the nin. Just retreat towards the major training grounds. Unleash the traps there, and keep them at bay for a max of ten minutes. If the time elapses and nothing happens, you have permission to use Forbidden Arts-"

"WHAT!" the Hatake broke in. "You'd risk that? I doubt we can hold for ten minutes, much less half that! Two minutes, then I'm letting loose!"

Shikamaru paled significantly. He glanced at the Hokage. She remained silent. "Three minutes, Inu. Get word to the ANBU teams. Help is on the way. Over and out."

Shikamaru released his thumb from the button. "Are you sure this was such a good idea? You're resting the village's survival on the laurels of a mere child."

Tsunade shrugged. "He's got the blood. Might as well trust him."

Shikamaru got up moved a piece on his strategic board. They needed a knight. "When do you plan on joining?"

"I don't." Tsunade muttered. "Unless you want more buildings to repair afterwards. And what about _you_, Nara? You going to be that knight?"

It was Shikamaru's turn to shrug. "Would you risk me leading your people? How troublesome."

"Troublesome as it is, young man, we're all heroes. Might as well play your part."

Shikamaru huffed. "I see why he thinks you're a grandma. Always getting what you want done..."

With that, the Lazy Bastard leapt out the window. He was lucky Tsunade was getting old. Twenty years earlier and he'd be blood and guts.

* * *

Shinkirou wrapped the cloak tighter around her. She'd forgotten Cloud was so damn cold at the coast. She needed a boat. She scanned the docks, looking for a visage friendly enough to take her. There were none. Everyone was grim-faced, their bitter mood made worse by the frigid weather.

She was about to consider a Shunshin when a friendly, tanned and weather-beaten face appeared before her. She would have said he'd come out of thin air, if the air wasn't thick with fog.

"Need a ride, missy?" He inquired with a slight grin. She'd been programmed to ignore strangers that she didn't recognise in some way. But this guy was like an old friend.

"Could you take me to the Old Island? Its a little far off coast-"

"Ah, that's short work for me!" he chuckled. "I'll get you there in a jiffy!"

He turned and walked off along the docks. It took Shinkirou a few seconds to follow. She had to jog slightly to keep up with his long stride. Despite his slightly plump body that came from old age, he was agile. "Wait up!" she gasped, somewhat regretting it when she breathed in the air of an old steamship.

"What's your name?"

The sailor stopped all of a sudden, right in front of an antique ship. It was beautiful and petite. Its sails were a creamy parchment and the wood was an ancient brown. Beautiful golden script flowed along the portside. _The Mystique._

"I'd be The Shade."

Shinkirou would have gasped if the steamer wasn't only a few metres away from her. "The Shade...?"

* * *

Sasuke rushed Itachi, Sora the Hawk Boss at his side. As the wind blew past him, he made a hand seal. Kakashi hadn't said he couldn't use it on Itachi. So the plan was simple. Itachi had a monstrous amount of chakra, and Sasuke had enough prowess with the technique to pull the every ounce of energy from a chūnin.

So it was that Itachi found a long rope of chakra coming towards him. He had a very sick feeling in his gut as what felt like half of him was wrenched away. He realised it was his chakra..."No way..." Itachi was in shock as Sasuke powered up another of those sparks of his.

But this one looked more concentrated. And Itachi was shocked when the hawk just flew through him. _Genjutsu! _He scanned and rid his entire vicinity of whatever illusion he could find. He gasped for air as the lightning in his little brother's hand sucked the oxygen from his surroundings.

Itachi saw himself in the eye of his sibling. And all the memories came flashing by. His pain when he had been forced to kill his kith and kin. The pain when he'd stayed his hand against Sasuke, and put his hatred in him. The pain when he had been forced to turn his back to the world and walk alone.

And as the cold light and the pain came flooding, his body was desperate for escape. But his mind was lagging. He let the fear ricochet all over his mind, submitted to his brother's will. He felt the cold agony escape through his back. And as he fell, as the ground faded into an abyss of black, as the world closed in on Itachi Uchiha, he found the strength to say his last words.

"Seek...that peace. Brother..."

And the life left him. Sasuke turned to the hawk, and Sora knew better than anything it was time he departed. The boy had shed tears. For the first time in his long years as the Boss of his clan Hawk, Sora found it in him to shed a tear of his own.

_That was a true brother.

* * *

_I found myself in front of the tree. There was someone resting against the tree. It was a man, middle aged, with his hood up. I could not see an inch of his face- I could tell his age only by the signature. And this one was quite bright. Almost a pure white.

"So you've finally come, kid?"

How annoying. "I'm no kid, you old man!"

"Oh? Are you 21? No." The man stood up and brushed back his hood. "So you're still a kid."

Well, he was certainly someone I wouldn't be expecting to see. His dull silver hair was just as messy as mine. Around his neck were six tomoe resting against his muscular chest. The ripples of his eye that radiated from a pitch black iris were sharp and clear. His staff was resting against the tree, like it was just another branch.

He actually seemed fairly ordinary. For the Rikudou Sennin.

* * *

Nao sniffed the air. They were getting close. The primate pair had passed through the Hokage memorial, Konohamaru saying a brief prayer before his beloved grandfather's grave. Nao had waited patiently, utilising the extra seconds to familiarize with the chakra. It had been a long time since he had smelt it.

Now they rapidly approached the area. Konohamaru was a little confused. If this were a trove, why would it bee in the forest? It had been a simple task hopping over the village walls and into the dense woodland. No one would have spared them a glance on a rainy day.

Nao stopped before a very large tree. Very large was putting it simply, in the young Sarutobi's opinion. It was _gigantic._ It had thousands of thick branches and several leaves were falling out of it like a constant autumn rain.

Konohamaru honestly had no idea what to do in front of a giant tree. Maybe it had an opening somewhere. Knowing he had very little time to accomplish his task, the boy quickly scaled the tree, then decided on pumping his chakra into it. It would be very similar to the Third's. He was glad when the trunk peeled itself open, releasing vast amounts of musty air. The pair stepped into the dim interior of the Father Tree.

It was suddenly dark. Konohamaru realised that the hatch had been closed. He spun around and was startled when a sudden glow lit up the contents of the tree, with no obvious source in sight.

_What do you wish to find?_

Konohamaru would have told the voice in his head that he wished for everything he ever wanted- for it was in that room. Swords, precious daggers and jewels. Books that held life giving and dark secrets. But he had only one thing he was supposed to get. "Bring me the jutsu grandfather was going to use to save the village."

Somewhere deep within the cavern something hovered into the air and zoomed towards the two companions. Konohamaru deftly caught the scroll. The voice spoke once again, this time it was vaugely familiar.

_Within that scroll holds a secret that could devastate the world and cause terrible imbalance. Are you willing to risk it?_

_The Shodaime_. Konohamaru nodded. "I am. For ji-ji."

* * *

Sasuke had been carried back down to the village by another hawk, this one female with very soft feathers. Naturally, the Uchiha had fallen asleep. When he'd woken up, they were still in the air. Takaitsu had been hovering, awaiting Sasuke's instructions. He got up, thanking her for the help and jumping off and onto the wall. It was, thankfully, still programmed to accept his signature.

They hadn't thought he'd betrayed them. That was nice. He fingered the scroll in his pouch that held Itachi's body. He didn't want his brother's eyes in the hands of another madman. He'd give him a decent burial. And etch his name on the Uchiha Memorial Stone, where it rightfully belonged...He climbed down from one of the empty watchtowers, his footsteps on the concrete echoing around him.

As he descended, he looke out of one of the windows. The North Gate was open. And there were several ninja in and around the Forest of Death. What had happened? Just then Sasuke saw a green chakra flare just outside the village, not far from the North Gate itself. He recognized the chakra. It was the Shodaime's. But who was it, really? Just as Sasuke was about to continue on his way down, the flare lightened to a blinding silver.

He stood frozen for a moment, watching the pale light slowly engulf the entire village. Soon it had taken him as well.

* * *

_Land of Fire Border_

The guard looked up from his IchaIcha. What was that light? "Hey, Gensuke, check that out."

His companion stirred from his slumber, wiping his eyes more than twice before he could believe what he was seeing. A bright white light was slowly spreading across the entire forest that touched the immigration buildings. It rushed towards them as they opened their mouths in silent screams.

* * *

_Sunagakure, Kazekage Tower_

Gaara watched the light that had suddenly swallowed up the Land of Fire. Practically the whole world was seeing this. It would be all over the place by tomorrow morning.

He turned and walked back into his office, closing the glass sliding door behind him. He sat behind his polished desk and picked up his brush, dipping it in a bottle of fine ink. It was time he joined the party.


	16. After the Light

**The Apprentice of Time**

**After the Light**

Konohamaru woke up rather uncomfortably, on a sleeping bag in a large, dome like area. As he blinked the blurs out of his eyes, he recognised it as where he had fought his chūnin exam preliminaries. The two thick concrete hands were in their usual ram seal.

But the rough floor was littered with people, asleep and some groaning in pain. Konohamaru deduced he must have been suffering from chakra exhaustion. Otherwise he wouldn't be here. _Just how long has it been?_

The entrance burst open and in came his closet-pervert of a sensei. "Konohamaru!"

He was run over by the Sarutobi's two team-mates. Moegi reached him first of course. Then Konohamaru got one of the scariest bear hugs ever. Then Udon rapped a knuckle on his cranium. Not so scary.

"How the hell did you do that? Since when could you use such a jutsu? And what's up with your eyes?"

Konohamaru blinked. "What is wrong with my eyes?"

Moegi seemed to notice it too, and she leaned in very close to Konohamaru's face, making the young Sarutobi blush. "Scars..."

Konohamaru gasped. "Scars?"

The boy dipped a hand into his pocket and pulled out a scroll, unsealing a Fuuma shuriken. He held the weapon in front of his face. He didn't see anything for a few seconds. Until he saw claw marks extruding from his eyes. They looked...like ji-ji's.

* * *

When Sasuke opened his eyes, he was still on the tower stairs. The walls and other towers were a hive of activity, but no one paid Sasuke any attention as the scurried about, shouting and delivering messages.

The Uchiha got up, wondering just what had happened. What had that light been? Deciding he needed to confirm he was alive before he found that out, Sasuke took the steps down, looking out of the windows as he went. The village was still empty. But jounin could be seen scurrying about here and there, searching the place down for any stray enemies. Otherwise, Sasuke could not see a single Akatsuki, dead or alive. They all...disappeared.

He reached the bottom and kicked the door open, narrowly missing a startled jounin. But that didn't matter. The first battle was over.

He needed to improve for the second, and eradicate Akatsuki once and for all. They still had pay for what they had turned his brother into.

* * *

The Rikudo Sennin grinned. "So, it's your turn to go through with another blatant misadventure. You know what this tree is?"

I reached out and touched one of the vials, filled with glowing silver fluid. "Yep. This stuff is knowledge. Like the stuff the gods drink. Nectar."

The Sage nodded. "And this is your nectar. This is the knowledge of your ancestors, from me to your father- and yet still beyond me, for I was not the first with these talents." He plucked one of the vials from the tree. Another blossomed to take its place. "This is the key. Keep it safely with you, for it is what will end your final battle and bring you peace."

I took the vial from the Sage, holding it gently. It wasn't any different from the rest. But you could tell there was something special about it. I let the liquid slosh around the vial. It looked so much like water.

"You may now choose one more vial. This will be a power that will be abundant in you and your descendants, for as you are a Servant of Time, you will be rewarded for your efforts."

I thought about it for a moment..."Is it okay if I come back for it later?" I asked. "This is my mind right? So you'll always be around."

The Sage stared blankly at me for a few moments before nodding. "You may do so."

* * *

Shikamaru groaned. And he'd just been about to join the fight too. He got up off the ground and noticed that the whole village was noisy and very active, full of medic-nin treating the wounded and jounin running all over the place with messages. They were obviously expecting another attack. He dusted himself off and began walking back to the Hokage Tower.

If this sort of crap would happen whenever he was about to make a major entrance into battle, he wasn't fighting again. The doors were wide open, and Shikamaru realised this was where all the jounin were coming from. That meant the Hokage was awake.

The lazy genius took the stairs up rather using shunshin. He still liked to conserve chakra. He finally stepped up onto the last floor and sidestepped a jounin who had just been punched out of the office. Was that Kakashi? Oh well...

Shikamaru stepped into the office and, as usual, the Hokage looked quite calm. The lazy genius was taking no chances, so he stood at the door. "Was that your plan?"

Tsunade nodded. "Of course."

"You knew that was the jutsu the whole time?" he asked. "Especially the consequences it would have?"

"Who do you think you're talking to? Obviously I know what will be happening in the next few hours, that's why you see jounin scrambling for the borders."

"You mean Kakashi?" The lazy genius asked, taking a seat before the Hokage. "I'm afraid he fell a little short."

"Oh, he won't be going anywhere for a while. Sasuke will want training, as dog tired as he came back."

"How long do you think it is before he gets back?" Shikamaru asked. Tsunade already knew who he was.

"Oh, maybe a few weeks. But he's coming all right."

* * *

Kakashi had gracefully picked himself up, pulled up his IchaIcha and made all ends meet when he met Sasuke instead, binding him to the Laws of Gravity and sending him back to the floor. Darn. Sasuke said nothing as his sensei picked himself up. He was surprised the Hatake had actually fallen. But the, he'd once seen his sensei fall to one of the oldest tricks in the book- the Hanging Duster.

"I need training."

Kakashi had heard that before. At the time, Sasuke had thought he could beat Kakashi. The old Inu had shown him just why he couldn't. "What for?"

"I'm not going to stay unrecognised in this war." Sasuke said. "What else? I'll use Itachi's eyes on you if you don't."

Kakashi blanched. Itachi's eyes were extremely dangerous. The silver haired jounin had failed to wonder how Sasuke had escaped alive if he hadn't managed to kill Itachi. So the Hatake thought. He thought, and thought, and thought yet more..."Fine."

Sasuke tried not to look relieved. He wouldn't have had the guts to go through with the horrifying experience of an eye transplant.

And, of course, Itachi trusted him not to do that.

* * *

Shinkirou snuggled deeper into the blanket that the Shade had given her, watching her precious oxygen leave her lungs in clouds of almost steam-like heat in theses surroundings. Even in the cabins it was cold. The boat was submerged in icy water, after all.

When she had learnt that this old man was the Shade, she was very inclined to believe he was phoney. But who could have singled her out of this entire crowd, knowing she would need a boat to the island? Only the Shade. He knew the seas better than the Three-Tails itself. He'd been born during the Sage's time, and it was rumoured that whoever met him became immortal, but was cursed to never see their loved ones again.

She must have been immune to it, because the curse was so binding that you couldn't bear to face the cardinal direction those you loved were in. It was painful, she knew, from what she'd read in the diaries. But this cursed was passed on for a reason.

One she hoped she would never have to find out.

* * *

Had to end that there- disappointing I know, but I need some time to go through a few things. That's why this was short.


	17. The Waiting Game

**The Apprentice of Time**

**The Waiting Game**

Shikamaru composed himself and stood up. Right in front of the ten other ninja in the room, three of whom were Kage.

"The last battle drained us. We lost too many ANBU. And at the end of the day, we would have lost if not for Konohamaru. The reason why is that you took your time coming. Kazekage-sama only decided to join when things were dire. I mean no disrespect in saying this, but you have already failed us. I don't want it to happen twice.

"That is why we're going to wait. We won't attack until Akatsuki does. That will give use at least a few months to gather our extra forces. I have also received word that the Raikage plans to employ the Kinkaku Force. This puts us at an even greater disadvantage, because it takes, on average, a full four-man squad of Kage level ninja to defeat them. Or three teams of elite jounin. Or six regular jounin teams. Which is, at the moment, an eighth of our army. That is far to small. I propose that we train and promote more ninja from the genin level.

"And we have approximately six months to do it. Any suggestions?"

No one replied. Shukamaru consented to sit down.

Had Shikamaru Nara not said these things, plenty would not have happened. In fact, by saying those words he not only bought double the time he had proposed, he actually made the other Kage want to prove their aid- in other words, outclass each other in the magnitude of the armies that would be helping the Fire Nation. Which was exactly what Tsunade wanted.

_He certainly is a very useful pawn.

* * *

_I found myself very disappointed to be leaving the Sage behind. The bright blue sky of the world faded away in tatters, then I found myself in the hallways of the temple again. Time to navigate. I let the symbols on the walls guide me like before, taking the right turns and curves. Eventually I reached another chamber. The walls of this one were slick with half dried blood and it stank of sweat.

Right at the very centre of a room stood a red headed woman in a crimson kimono. She had highly accentuated physical features that, quite frankly, disgusted me. Her eyes glowed a demonic red in the dark and her teeth were sharper than blades.

"Why hello, handsome." she said.

"Don't give me that crap." I snapped. "What are you doing here?"

The Kyuubi no Kitsune laughed. It sounded like howling. "You thought that I'd let you bear that sword? It would eradicate me! It is too pure to reside in your body, even if the me sealed in here is my purer half."

I glared. "Dressed like a defenceless concubine, this will be a piece of cake for me."

I drew a kunai and sparked it in wind. The Kyuubi laughed. "In your dreams, human."

Then she exploded in blood and smoke. The cloud grew larger and larger. It stopped growing when it was the size of a skyscraper. Then it began to solidify. The eyes formed first.

"This temple is the battleground, Uzumaki. You're lucky you have the Gift of Time. It will take you lifetimes to defeat me!"

I activated my eyes. They glowed a stark silver in the dimness of the chamber. "We'll see about that."

* * *

Sasuke sat on a rock and waited patiently for his sensei. That War Council sure was taking a long time. Three hours already. He had several ideas as to what to improve in his repertoire. He needed a powerful genjutsu. He needed a more powerful assassination technique to use in battle. And he needed to learn some seals for his sword. Kakashi could teach him all that- even the sealing. He was an ex-ANBU after all.

There was a poof in front of him and Sasuke's eyes snapped open. It was Kakashi. "Can we start?"

The Copy Nin pulled out his book. "Sure. What do you want to work on?"

"My Chidori lacks power."

Kakashi froze for a second. "Really? From what I saw before...yours is about twice more potent than mine."

"A Sasuno'o has ten times more potent a chakra than mine. Guaranteed, there is one last Uchiha."

Kakashi stiffened even more. "How do you know?"

"I saw it. In Itachi's eye. Before he died. It was there." Sasuke muttered, his eyes closing again. "A man with a single eye. The eye that sees for eternity. The eye that never sleeps."

Kakashi turned the page. Once again, he wasn't seeing a word. "What else did he show you?"

"Danzo. There are lights on his arm. Itachi saw them with his Mangekyou. Danzo has Sharingan in his arm."

Kakashi was now on the verge of panic. This was terrible. The moment he got this information, Kakashi should have reported to the Hokage and had Danzo captured and interrogated. Unfortunately, Kakashi's main pastime was avoiding trouble, and this was the essence of trouble, so he simply remained calm and told Sasuke what he'd have to do.

"If you want to use the chakra of a Sasuno'o for your Chidori, you'll have to figure that out yourself." Kakashi said. "Maybe search your family libraries. But to test just how strong your Raikiri is, I want you to cut a bolt of lightning. Easy enough?"

Sasuke laughed. "I won't cut a bolt of lightning." he uttered. "I'll cut an entire storm."

* * *

I have a little problem guys. I need a break from Fan Fiction. This year, I plan on writing some of my own stuff, and by 2013 it will hopefully be in a store or online. So my updates will slow down to about once a month/two months, they might be only around 1000 words and I know that makes a few people unhappy.

I hope you guys understand and don't kill me, but at this point, right here in the story, its only a few chapters before we descend into Naruto's Kagehood, so this year comes a sequel, with all the Kage stuff and the war up to its ending.

So its bye till February...

And please read The Dreamer. Give me your opinion, because that is what's coming after the sequel. A fully original Uzumaki tale. I think.

See ya. C:


	18. Flowing Along

**The Apprentice o****f Time**

**Flowing Along**

"Is he ever going to come back?" Sakura asked grumpily. She was getting tired of that same white flash of light whenever it rained. It reminded her that Sasuke was out there trying to accomplish something pointless. At least in her opinion.

"Well, Sakura, if you kiss him, I'd wager he'd be back here for the first time in almost three hundred days." Kakashi chuckled, turning the page of his book. Sasuke had been at it for ages, training his fire techniques by day, his battle skill by night, and his Raikiri whenever it stormed.

"Ha, ha." growled Sakura sarcastically. "I'm sure he would."

Sakura looked up, noticing that rain clouds were up again, shadowing the blazing sun. It was a relief on one hand. She took the stairs back down to the main part of the Hokage Tower, Sasuke still on her turbulent thoughts. As much as she worried about Sasuke daily, Naruto was the one who constantly inhabited her thoughts. She'd hoped. For such a long time. But now Naruto's return was sinking deeper into her doubt.

Its been almost three years. Sakura absently picked a mission scroll on her way out, not registering that she'd picked an SS-Rank solo until Tsunade actually hit her on the head. "What's up with you today?"

Sakura was too flustered to give a coherent answer."I-I just...oh, _damn_."

Tsunade shrugged. "Maybe pinkies _are _really moon addled."

Sakura shuffled out miserably with her A-Rank scroll, a frown on her face. She bumped into people several times on her way home. When she got home her mom thought she'd gotten some disease. She didn't close her window as it started to rain.

Maybe she was Narusick.

* * *

I sat behind a pillar in one of the chambers of the temple, catching my breath. This had gone on for years. At least from my point of view. The Kyuubi wasn't kidding. And the entire time I hadn't aged. Well technically I was moving at about three million times the speed of light. So it technically was a lifetime. Fifty years fighting this thing. If I wasn't so resilient, I would have died. And since it was my mind, in all technicality, then that meant I couldn't die without _actually _getting physically killed.

Even after fifty years, I hadn't managed to cook up the right jutsu to kill the Kyuubi. But I'd been draining its power over time. I managed to sneak in a customized Eight Gate Absorption seal...about three years ago...there had to be a way to beat this thing. I'd tried everything. All my best jutsu, all the blades I could summon from Worlds, both Under and Over, all the fuuinjutsu I'd learnt, spontaneously generated three elements at once, conjured silver fire...

What hadn't I tried? It nagged at the back of my mind, yet it should have been fresh. Hadn't the Sage said something? Oh. I realized just how stupid I was. Where was it? I started searching when I sensed the rock behind me shift. I whirled round and threw a blade at the Kyuubi as it tried to sneak up on me in human form.

I shunshined to a safe distance. I couldn't think like this...

"Tiring, human!"

To be honest, I was. I had bruises all over me. There was a cut along the length of my left arm that I couldn't heal. It was now completely dead. I would have gone macho and cut it off, but if I was going to be able to recall the Rikudou Sennin's jutsu, I'd need it.

I coated my right hand in wind. "Hardly."

I flung myself at the demon once more.

* * *

The storm began to calm. Sasuke concentrated once more. One last time. He almost had it. He went through the seals again, adding a custom one to the original sequence of the Raikiri. His right hand cam ablaze with lightning, as white as snow. The latent power of the jutsu cause the earth around him to crack, and the Raikiri continued to gain power. Then he allowed his eyes to slumber, slowly...the Raikiri began to brighten, and Sasuke's eyes blended together, forming his Mangekyou. Ten seconds.

He leapt from rock to rock, a trail of energy trailing behind him as he travelled upwards. He could see it now..the bolt came in slow motion to his eyes. He timed it carefully. The bolt of lightning crossed his hand with perfect accuracy, and he added more juice to it, blending his fire chakra for more power. The resulting flash caused him to go blind for a few seconds..He flipped back to the ground, breathing like he'd ran across the globe seven times over. His vision returned briefly, and he saw the streak of light, the broken bolt, before it all disappeared.

Sasuke's body finally gave out. He hit the ground, the trail he had left lingering slightly as the rain stopped. The clouds began to part, giving way to the rising sun.

* * *

Tsunade watched from her office window as the tremendous brightness of the lightning like a comet, flashed in a millisecond, cutting right through the bolt of lightning like a knife through butter. But it didn't just sever the bolt. The sky seemed to rip apart, revealing the cold light of the morning sun as the rain seceded. She stared at the after image for a few seconds. Then she laughed.

"This kid is one hell of a ninja!"

Sakura watched the flash from her bedroom. It was like a fireworks display. And she was relieved. She was amazed. Most of all, she was proud. "You did it, Sasuke."

* * *

Barely two weeks later, Sasuke was famous throughout the world. I heard of it myself a while later. I walked out of the temple that same morning. The deed was done. As I got out, I was freaking starving.

There was a girl waiting for me at the entrance.

"Naruto?"

I was surprised for a moment...was this..."Shinkirou?"

"Bastard." she scowled.

"I thought you might say that." I shrugged. "Anything I might consume?"

"Yeah. You can eat your own balls for up and leaving like that."

"Thank you." I answered sarcastically. "So how did you come by my favourite island?"

"Don't play dumb. You knew this was my home all along."

"I guess I did. Is that old man still alive?"

"Interesting question." Musashi descended the last stretch of now leafy ground and stood before me. "That I am."

I was surprised when he hugged me like a long lost brother. My ribs. "Lay off the stomach gramps! I'm so hungry, I'll have to eat myself if I don't lay my hands on some ramen...ran out after that All Directions Shuriken...wasn't that six years ago?"

Musashi eyed me in amusement. "So how did you do it?"

"Posing that query again gramps?" I asked. "Let's just say it was a matter of becoming the enemy."

Musashi didn't enquire further and we walked back up to the mansion. I was surprised to find the entire family waiting. And a little something extra...

"Inari? Tazuna!" Inari was so tall. Well, for his age. Smirk. And Tazuna was still old. Oh how shocking it was.

"Kid, ye darn gave me a heart attack trotting off like that...Shinkirou was so worried sick she-"

The old man was cut off by a flushed Shinkirou. "Can it old timer."

"Naruto!"

"No, no don't hug me-" Inari slammed into me. "AAAAARGH!"

"Get this man some ramen." Musashi muttered. "And boy, when you get around to getting to know my rather _unique_ granddaughter, I trust you'll be disciplined."

"Can I eat first?" I groaned. "Declarations of love can come later."

"Fair , and Naruto?"

"Yes gramps?"

"Get a shower."

"Yes gramps."

Musashi nodded. "And now you wait."

"Oh." I fainted.

* * *

And that's somewhat of the grand finale. I did say it would be ending. And I have to say I'm sorry to see Naruto's teens go. (Yes, he's _older _in the sequel) But there is the epilogue. Oh you'll love the epilogue.


	19. Epilogue

**The Apprentice of ****Time**

**Epilogue: ****Letters to Home **

_Dear Baa-chan_

_I'm alive. Yes, I'm alive! First thing you ought to know. I heard Sasuke cut a storm in two. Tell him to go suck up and get stronger, cause I conjured three elements. I'm sure you know what that's called, the old texts would tell you._

_How are things? Kakashi get married yet? Boy it has been _years..._Who's the Hokage now? Well if you didn't know, I'm the new Kage people have been chatting about at Ichiraku's (and they expanded because I _sent _them money...I want their ramen all over the world) Well I'm not really a Kage yet _officially _but we're building the village and it looks marvellous. Its going to built on an island! Not far from the continent. We're having a jutsu drift it closer to the main continent._

_By the way, I have a girlfriend. Tell the teme to beat that. And we're getting married soon. She doesn't want me in an orange suit. That sucks. I learnt so much stuff travelling the world, I met the Mizukage, I lived on this island for ages, training and meeting my future family. They're a handful, and they're the Senkkaku. Sure you've heard about them. _

_There's so much stuff I want to do, and I wish I could just stay on this island and do it, but it wouldn't be the same without you guys and I can't get to you guys without ending the war. So here we go again. I need you to tell the other Kage about me, so I can bring my forces in (yes, I have forces! High five!) into the game. Also, if you're not too busy, I can have someone escort you to my fabulous home. It is fabulously full, by the way._

_Tell Sakura to stop worrying, she's going to die with all that stress. I hope she lightened up (don't ask me how I know, I just have sources) and finally picked the right scroll. You can tell her she'll see me soon. At the Kage meeting. Bring the rest of the team along if you can. Make the excuse that you're getting old if you must._

_And please, please, please, send me some _real _ramen!_

_Love_

_Naruto_

_PS There's a kid coming along. Saved it till the end so you'd have a heart attack about Naru Jr. _


End file.
